July 8 (Reuters) - ReserveOne, a new cryptocurrency
holding company with ties to industry veterans and a former U.S.
commerce secretary, said on Tuesday it will list on the Nasdaq
through a blank-check deal that is expected to raise more than
$1 billion.
The company will manage a portfolio of cryptocurrencies
including bitcoin, ethereum and Solana. Shares of M3-Brigade
Acquisition V Corp ( MBAV ), the blank-check firm, fell nearly
4% before the open.
The deal is the latest in a series of efforts to wrap crypto
assets into equity and make them more appealing for traditional
investors.
The exponential stock price growth of Michael Saylor's
Strategy, which pivoted to a bitcoin-focused business
model in 2020, has also popularized the playbook.
While ReserveOne is joining a crowded space, its leadership
team includes some high-profile figures. The company will be led
by CEO Jaime Leverton, the former chief of crypto miner and
computing provider Hut 8 ( HUT ).
Sebastian Bea, a former executive at asset managers
BlackRock ( BLK ) and Coinbase Asset Management, will be its
president and head of investment.
The company's board will be chaired by stablecoin giant
Tether's co-founder Reeve Collins, and will include Wilbur Ross,
the Secretary of Commerce in the first Trump administration.
Crypto firm Blockchain.com and crypto exchange Kraken are
among the investors, contributing up to $750 million to the
deal, through a combination of equity and convertible debt
offering.
Blank-check firms, or special purpose acquisition companies,
are shell entities that raise capital through an IPO with the
sole purpose of merging with a private company, which then
becomes publicly traded.