Crypto-Asset Management Firm ReserveOne to Go Public in $1 Billion Deal

Digital asset management firm ReserveOne is going public in a $1 billion deal.

The company announced plans for a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger with M3-Brigade Acquisition V Corp. in a Tuesday (July 8) press release.

ReserveOne, which was inspired by the proposed national cryptocurrency reserve, plans to hold and manage digital assets, such as bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana, the release said.

Backed by crypto industry players including Blockchain.com and Kraken, the firm will be led by CEO Jaime Leverton, former chief executive of Hut 8, and ex-Coinbase Asset Management head Sebastian Bea will serve as president, according to the release.

“This announcement marks a pivotal moment for the digital asset ecosystem as a whole,” Leverton said in the release. “By moving towards a public listing, we’re reinforcing our commitment to responsible innovation, financial inclusion and the development of a more resilient, transparent market for digital assets. Our disciplined, yield-focused strategy is designed to set a new standard for regulated crypto investing.”

The company’s plans come as the Securities and Exchange Commission plans to review some of the more recent rules it imposed on SPACs.

“There have been new rules adopted by the commission in the last couple of years regarding SPACs,” SEC Chair Paul Atkins told CNBC Wednesday (July 2). “Those were very, you know, rather controversial, let’s say. So, we’ll be looking at all of those things.”

Atkins said SPACs provide a quicker path to going public when initial public offerings (IPOs) have been on the decline.

“Disclosures, very important,” Atkins said. “Obviously, the structure of it is very important. But I think if we pay attention to going public and what are the impediments for people to access the public markets through IPOs and other means like that, I think the other situation will be able to solve itself.”

The SEC boosted its oversight of SPACs last year, introducing rules that require more disclosure, cracking down on conflicts of interest and speeding the deal-making process.

“Just because a company uses an alternative method to go public does not mean that its investors are any less deserving of time-tested investor protections,” then-SEC Chair Gary Gensler said at the time.