Bitcoin News Today: Trump-backed American Bitcoin nears public listing as Gryphon merger clears key SEC hurdle

American Bitcoin Corporation (ABC), a Bitcoin mining company supported by members of the Trump family, is approaching a significant regulatory milestone in its effort to go public through a backdoor listing with Gryphon Digital Mining. On July 31, Gryphon Digital Mining submitted a proxy statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), scheduling a shareholder vote on the proposed merger for August 27 [1]. The SEC also cleared the Form S-4 registration statement, an essential regulatory step that enables the deal to proceed [1].

The merger will see ABC combine with Gryphon, a publicly traded Bitcoin miner listed on Nasdaq under the ticker “GRYP.” ABC, a newly established proprietary mining subsidiary of Hut 8 Corp., recently raised $220 million through a private equity placement in preparation for the deal [1]. Under the terms of the transaction, Hut 8 transferred its proprietary mining equipment to ABC, which now operates the machines at Hut 8’s infrastructure facilities [1].

According to the prospectus, ABC currently owns approximately 10.17 EH/s of Bitcoin hashrate with a fleet efficiency of 21.2 J/TH as of May 30. However, the company has not disclosed recent Bitcoin production figures or its current operating capacity [1]. The company has set a target of 25 EH/s in hashrate, with an option to acquire an additional 15 EH/s from Hut 8 for Bitmain machines [1].

Eric Trump, a co-founder of ABC, is expected to hold a $367 million stake in the combined entity post-listing [1]. The merger, estimated at around $700 million, represents a strategic move to bring ABC to public markets, leveraging Gryphon’s existing Nasdaq listing. The transaction has attracted attention due to ABC’s high-profile backing and the broader trend of institutional investment in Bitcoin mining [1].

The shareholder vote scheduled for August 27 is a critical step in the process. If approved, the combined entity will trade on Nasdaq, offering investors exposure to a politically connected firm in the Bitcoin mining sector [1]. The outcome of the vote will determine whether ABC can solidify its position in the growing corporate Bitcoin mining landscape [1].

At the time of reporting, Bitcoin traded at $113,589, down 0.2% in the last 24 hours. The weekly trend has been bearish, with Bitcoin underperforming the broader crypto market [4]. Nonetheless, the institutionalization of Bitcoin and the increasing adoption of digital assets in corporate treasuries have provided some stability and growing confidence among investors [4].

The Gryphon-ABC merger reflects a broader trend of companies in the crypto space using merger strategies to fast-track their public market access. As the vote date approaches, the market remains closely watching for developments that could shape the future of institutional Bitcoin mining.

Source:

[1] Bitcoin.com (https://news.bitcoin.com/trump-backed-american-bitcoin-nears-public-listing-as-gryphon-sets-merger-vote-schedule/)

[4] CoinGecko (https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/bitcoin/usd)