One of the largest Bitcoin (BTC) ATM makers goes public

Bitcoin Depot, North America’s largest retailer brand of Bitcoin (BTC), is to go public in an $885 million SPAC merger. The company currently has over 7,000 distributors across the United States and Canada and currently holds over 19% of the global market share.

Bitcoin Depot enters the Nasdaq

Bitcoin Depot, North America’s largest Bitcoin (BTC) ATM provider, is about to go public, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.

The company will merge with GSR II Meteora Acquisition Corp, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in an $885 million deal. Bitcoin Depot will effectively become a public company listed on Nasdaq, the second largest equity market behind the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

A company categorized as SPAC is a listed company without a specific activity ( shell firm ) created with the aim of acquiring or merging with another existing company in order to make it go public, as is the case here.

Based in Atlanta, Bitcoin Depot claims to be the largest provider of Bitcoin ATMs in North America with over 7,000 ATMs in the United States and Canada. This type of distributor makes it possible to buy Bitcoin, Ether (ETH), or Litecoin (BTC) in a simplified way, often with a simple QR code.

Brandon Mintz, the CEO of Bitcoin Depot, said the company continues to grow exponentially, despite a bear market that has taken hold:

We’re actually doing fantastically well right now, regardless of the market. 

Finally, the CEO of Bitcoin Depot also revealed that future acquisitions will be forthcoming once the company re-enters the Nasdaq.

Bitcoin distributors under surveillance

Cryptocurrency distributors, also known as Bitcoin ATMs, are often accused of facilitating money laundering or more generally criminal activities, which may have led to their complete banning in some places, including Singapore.

Some countries, such as the United Kingdom, require companies offering this type of distributor to comply with their regulations. As such, all ATMs present on British land had to quickly end their services last March.

In the United States, this type of activity is also closely monitored, and companies must meet certain conditions in order to offer their distributors. In particular, the latter must comply with the law on bank secrecy (Bank Secrecy Act) and work in concert with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, which is responsible for combating money laundering.

SPAC companies, already closely watched, will now be subject to even greater scrutiny according to the United States SEC, particularly with regard to compensation paid to sponsors and conflicts of interest.