- Bitcoin Depot is planning for an $885 million valuation through a SPAC merger with GSR II Meteora.
- CEO Brandon Mintz said that the public listing will enhance their ability to quickly expand and scale their business to other markets.
Bitcoin Depot, the world’s largest operator of cryptocurrency ATMs, is planning for an entry into the Nasdaq index on Wall Street. The public listing will happen by merging the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) GSR II Meteora at an estimated valuation of $885 million.
Bitcoin Depot is a pioneer in the crypto ATM space with its products and service providing “an intuitive, quick, and convenient process to convert cash into cryptocurrency”. Interestingly, this development comes at a time when the crypto market has been facing severe headwinds.
However, Bitcoin Depot already has more than 7000 crypto ATM kiosks across North America. In the last six years since its inception, the company has made very good progress by establishing its operations in 47 states of the U.S. and nine provinces in Canada.
Unlike the traditional automated teller machines (ATMs) where consumers can deposit and withdraw cash, bitcoin kiosks operate a bit differently. These crypto kiosks allow users to buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies by scanning a QR code. These crypto purchases can be either through cash or debit cards. Speaking of the development, Brandon Mintz, CEO, and Founder of Bitcoin Depot said:
Today marks an important milestone for Bitcoin Depot. We’re excited about numerous growth opportunities and believe a public listing enhances our ability to scale and evolve to achieve our goal of providing a convenient and secure way to purchase cryptocurrency.
Expanding the footprint in the crypto market
Currently, Bitcoin Depot pegs a market share of 19.1 percent in the global crypto ATM market. Company CEO Brandon Mintz added that they are looking to reach as many people as possible. Owning cryptocurrencies gives people control over their money while conducting easier and simpler financial transactions.
The CEO also noted that Bitcoin Depot has enhanced its services to provide convenient access to cryptocurrency. “We aim to become a digital asset economy on-ramp destination for users to efficiently turn cash into crypto,” he added.
Related: Bitcoin ATMs compromised as hackers exploit a zero-day bug
As noted Bitcoin Depot is heading for a public listing through a SPAC merger with GSR. SPACs have been a popular way of public listing in recent years. More than half of the IPOs during 2020-2021 have happened through a public listing. Furthermore, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also warned that SPCAs will be subject to greater scrutiny.
However, Bitcoin Depot’s SPAC partner GSR remains confident of the development. Gus Garcia, Co-CEO and Director of GSRM, said: “With its significant BTM footprint, key strategic relationships, and feature-rich mobile app, we believe Bitcoin Depot is well positioned to take advantage of the highly fragmented BTM market both domestically and overseas.”