A company built purely on Bitcoin is preparing to hit the public markets through a deal with a Wall Street veteran. The Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company (BSTR) plans to list on the Nasdaq by merging with Cantor Equity Partners I, Inc., a blank-check company connected to financial giant Cantor Fitzgerald.
When the deal finalizes in late 2025, the new firm will trade as “BSTR” and instantly become a major player among corporations holding Bitcoin.
Right out of the gate, BSTR will control a war chest of 30,021 BTC – A stash currently valued at about $3.6 billion. This immediately makes it the fourth-largest public holder of Bitcoin.
The treasure trove was assembled from two main sources – 25,000 BTC came from founding shareholders advised by Blockstream Capital, and an additional 5,021 BTC was secured from veteran Bitcoin investors through a private fundraising round paid directly in crypto.
The leadership team bridges the gap between old-school finance and the crypto world. Dr. Adam Back, CEO of Blockstream and creator of the Hashcash proof-of-work system referenced in the Bitcoin whitepaper, will run the new company as its CEO. His Chief Investment Officer will be Sean Bill, an institutional investment expert known for guiding one of the first Bitcoin investments for a U.S public pension fund.
A different breed of Bitcoin company
Don’t mistake this for another MicroStrategy, which holds Bitcoin while running a separate software business. BSTR’s entire reason for being is the cryptocurrency itself. Its mission is straightforward – Accumulate more Bitcoin, generate yield paid in Bitcoin, and advise other companies and governments on how to do the same.
For this company, success isn’t measured in dollars, but in a new public market metric – “Bitcoin per share.”
The move creates a publicly traded company designed exclusively to acquire and earn Bitcoin, signaling a new phase of institutional buy-in. The merger is fueled by the largest capital raise ever for a Bitcoin-centric SPAC, with up to $1.5 billion in cash commitments on the table. That money is already earmarked to buy more Bitcoin and create new financial products native to the Bitcoin ecosystem.
This deal also highlights Wall Street’s growing comfort with crypto and isn’t Cantor Fitzgerald’s first big move in the sector this year.
Back in April 2025, Cantor helped launch Twenty One Capital, a $3.6 billion partnership with SoftBank and Tether that started with over 42,000 BTC. All told, Cantor’s crypto projects in 2025 could top $10 billion – A sign that major institutions are now treating Bitcoin as a fundamental asset.
Shaking up the public Bitcoin holdings leaderboard
BSTR’s launch will immediately reshuffle the rankings of publicly traded Bitcoin treasuries. Its 30,021 BTC holding puts it in elite company from day one.
Top Public Company Bitcoin Holders (Mid-2025 Estimates)
- Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy): ~597,000 BTC
- Robinhood: ~136,755 BTC
- Marathon Digital Holdings: ~49,859 BTC
- Bitcoin Standard Treasury (BSTR): ~30,021 BTC (projected)
- Tesla, Inc.: ~11,509 BTC
This bold market entry, carrying the weight of Adam Back’s reputation and Cantor Fitzgerald’s financial muscle, gives investors a pure-play vehicle for a Bitcoin-focused strategy. It arrives as interest swells in “Bitcoin Standard” businesses—companies that do more than just hold the asset, but weave its values of transparency and decentralization into their DNA.
As more firms look for a hedge against inflation, BSTR could become the template for the next generation of public companies built from the ground up on Bitcoin.