Blank-Check Company Strikes Cryptocurrency Deal — WSJ

By Lauren Thomas and Ben GlickmanBlank-check company Dynamix is merging with another entity to create a new company known as the Ether Machine. The combined company plans to manage over $1.5 billion in ether, the largest cryptocurrency behind bitcoin.It is a bet that investors will continue to reward businesses that pour money into crypto holdings under the industry-friendly Trump administration.The detailsThe deal was announced Monday morning, confirming an earlier report from The Wall Street Journal.It will be backed by a group of crypto investors including exchanges Kraken and Blockchain.com contributing more than $800 million in equity financing at $10 a share, the companies said.It will also receive a roughly $645 million anchor investment from the Ether Machine co-founder Andrew Keys, who will serve as chairman. David Merin, another co-founder, will be chief executive and investor Jonathan Christodoro will be vice chairman.Keys said in an interview that its team's experience with Ethereum will set it apart."We've essentially amassed the Avengers of Ethereum," he said.Ethereum is a blockchain platform that allows users to conduct transactions and enter into so-called smart contracts. Ether is the cryptocurrency that undergirds transactions and interactions on Ethereum.The contextDozens of companies — many of which previously had nothing to do with crypto — have allocated more capital for buying bitcoin, pivoting to a strategy often called "bitcoin treasury." Michael Saylor of Strategy has led the way, turning his company previously known as MicroStrategy into a holder of dozens of billions of dollars in the token as its price has surged.Public-market investors have so far mostly rewarded strategic pivots to holding bitcoin. Less common, though, are holding companies for ether. A number of companies that previously focused on bitcoin are now branching out into ether.Bitcoin's price has continued to surge after the early 2024 approval of spot exchange-traded funds, which allow investors to gain exposure to the asset within a standard brokerage account.A suite of legislation backed by President Trump passed earlier this month established standards for stablecoins and laid out rules for crypto exchanges.Trump Media & Technology Group, the president's media company, on Monday said it reached $2 billion in purchases of bitcoin and bitcoin-related securities as part of its strategy of loading up on crypto.Write to Lauren Thomas at [email protected] and Ben Glickman at [email protected]