Cantor-backed SPAC CEPO and Adam Back's Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company (BSTR) have abandoned their original merger terms, announced just over a year ago. The two entities will now renegotiate a revised structure, according to a joint statement. The original deal, struck in July 2025, has been scrapped entirely, with the shareholder vote postponed indefinitely.
The decision comes amid shifting market conditions that made the original terms untenable, though neither party specified the exact catalysts. BSTR, a bitcoin-focused treasury firm founded by Blockstream CEO Adam Back, had planned to go public via the Cantor Equity Partners SPAC. The renegotiation signals a potential reassessment of valuation and deal structure in the current crypto market environment.
Regulatory overhang remains a factor for SPAC mergers in the digital asset space. The SEC has tightened scrutiny on SPAC disclosures and projections, particularly for crypto-related targets. While no regulatory action against this specific deal has been reported, the broader crackdown has chilled the SPAC market for blockchain firms since 2023.
Bitcoin prices have been range-bound in recent weeks, with the broader crypto market cap hovering around $1.1 trillion. The merger's collapse may reflect a disconnect between BSTR's valuation expectations and public market appetite for bitcoin treasury plays. Bitcoin dominance remains above 50%, but investor sentiment toward tokenized treasury strategies has cooled since the post-halving rally faded.
Community reaction has been muted, with some analysts noting that SPAC exits for crypto firms have become increasingly rare. Competing bitcoin treasury operations, such as MicroStrategy, continue to raise capital through convertible note offerings rather than SPAC mergers, a model BSTR may now consider.