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Crypto companies race to public markets as industry sheds post-FTX stigma

Crypto companies race to public markets as industry sheds post-FTX stigma

Money Moves

After a wave of successful 2025 IPOs, digital asset firms are lining up for Nasdaq and NYSE listings

March 16th, 2026: Abra announces $750 million SPAC merger for Nasdaq listing

Overview

Abra, a cryptocurrency wealth management platform that paid more than $83 million in regulatory settlements over the past two years, announced a $750 million merger with New Providence Acquisition Corp. III to list on Nasdaq. The deal would deliver $300 million in cash for institutional lending, yield, and custody—now Abra's sole focus after shutting down retail operations amid enforcement actions.

The merger arrives at a peculiar moment: most successful crypto companies have recently chosen traditional initial public offerings over the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) route that burned investors during the 2021 boom. Circle, Bullish, Gemini, and BitGo all went public through conventional listings in 2025 and early 2026. Abra's choice of a SPAC that still carries baggage from when crypto SPACs lost investors 67% of their value will test market trust in the company's reinvention and deal structure.

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Key Indicators

$750M
Pre-money equity valuation
Abra's valuation in the SPAC merger with New Providence Acquisition Corp. III
$83M+
Total regulatory settlements
Combined penalties and customer repayments Abra paid across federal and state enforcement actions since 2020
$10B
Assets under management target by 2027
Abra's stated goal for institutional assets, up from hundreds of millions today
6+
Major crypto listings since mid-2025
Circle, Bullish, Gemini, eToro, BitGo, and now Abra have gone or are going public
100%
Existing investor rollover
All current Abra investors including Pantera Capital and Blockchain Capital will convert their holdings into public shares

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

Ayn Rand

Ayn Rand

(1905-1982) · Cold War · philosophy

Fictional AI pastiche — not real quote.

"A company that paid $83 million to regulators for the privilege of existing now seeks capital through a vehicle that destroyed 67% of investor wealth — and they call this a *reinvention*. The looters have merely changed their disguise, not their nature; when a man's first act upon returning to the market is to choose the most discredited vehicle available, he is not rebuilding trust — he is betting that the public's memory is shorter than his audacity."

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People Involved

Bill Barhydt
Bill Barhydt
Leading Abra through SPAC merger; banned from money transmitter businesses in 25 states for five years
 Alexander Coleman
Alexander Coleman
Leading SPAC through merger with Abra

Organizations Involved

Abra (Plutus Financial Inc.)
Abra (Plutus Financial Inc.)
Cryptocurrency Wealth Management Platform
Merging with SPAC for Nasdaq listing

A digital asset wealth management platform serving institutional clients, registered investment advisers, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals with custody, trading, yield, and lending services.
New Providence Acquisition Corp. III
New Providence Acquisition Corp. III
Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC)
Merging with Abra; approximately $302 million in trust

A blank-check company formed to acquire a consumer-market business with an enterprise value above $700 million, now merging with Abra.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Federal Agency
Previously brought two enforcement actions against Abra

The primary U.S. federal agency responsible for regulating securities markets, which brought enforcement actions against Abra in 2020 and 2024.

Timeline

April 2021 March 2026

12 events Latest: March 16th, 2026 · 3 months ago Showing 8 of 12
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Abra announces $750 million SPAC merger for Nasdaq listing

    Latest Deal

    Abra announced a merger with New Providence Acquisition Corp. III at a $750 million pre-money valuation. The combined company will trade on Nasdaq as Abra Financial Inc. under the ticker ABRX.

  2. BitGo debuts on NYSE with 25% first-day gain

    Market

    Crypto custody firm BitGo went public on the New York Stock Exchange, gaining nearly 25% on its first trading day and reaching a market capitalization of $2.6 billion.

  3. Bullish lists on Nasdaq after abandoning earlier SPAC attempt

    Market

    Crypto exchange Bullish, which owns CoinDesk, went public through a traditional listing after its 2021 SPAC deal stalled. Shares rose from $37 to $90 in weeks, reaching a market capitalization above $13 billion.

  4. Circle goes public via traditional IPO at $18 billion valuation

    Market

    Three years after its SPAC deal collapsed, stablecoin issuer Circle completed a traditional initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, priced above its target range with 25 to 30 times oversubscription.

  5. SEC fines Abra $1.65 million over unregistered lending product

    Regulatory

    The SEC settled charges against Abra for failing to register its Abra Earn crypto lending product, which at its peak held approximately $600 million in assets.

  6. Abra settles with 25 states, agrees to repay $82 million

    Regulatory

    Abra settled with 25 state financial regulators for operating without money transmitter licenses. The company agreed to repay up to $82 million in crypto assets to U.S. retail customers.

  7. SEC approves spot Bitcoin ETFs, a watershed for institutional crypto

    Regulatory

    The SEC approved the first U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, triggering massive institutional inflows. BlackRock's fund alone accumulated more than $50 billion in assets within its first year.

  8. Circle terminates SPAC deal

    Deal

    Circle's SPAC merger with Concord Acquisition Corp collapsed after failing to close, a casualty of the simultaneous crypto winter and SPAC market bust.

  9. FTX collapses, deepening crypto credibility crisis

    Industry

    The implosion of FTX and the arrest of founder Sam Bankman-Fried sent shockwaves through the crypto industry, making public markets even more wary of digital asset companies.

  10. Bakkt goes public via SPAC; shares fall on day one

    Market

    Cryptocurrency exchange Bakkt began trading after its SPAC merger. The stock fell on its first day and would eventually lose more than 90% of its value from post-merger highs.

  11. Circle announces SPAC merger at up to $9 billion valuation

    Deal

    Stablecoin issuer Circle agreed to go public through a SPAC merger with Concord Acquisition Corp, initially valued at $4.5 billion and later revised upward to $9 billion.

  12. Coinbase opens the door with landmark direct listing

    Market

    Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase listed directly on Nasdaq at a fully diluted market capitalization of roughly $86 billion, becoming the first major crypto company to trade on a U.S. stock exchange.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

April 2021

Coinbase direct listing (2021)

Coinbase became the first major cryptocurrency company to trade on a U.S. stock exchange, listing directly on Nasdaq at a fully diluted market capitalization of roughly $86 billion. The stock opened at $381 per share—well above its $250 reference price—on the strength of $1.8 billion in first-quarter revenue.

Then

The listing triggered a wave of crypto companies pursuing public markets, with multiple SPAC deals announced in the following months.

Now

Coinbase's stock fell more than 80% during the 2022 crypto winter before recovering. The listing established the template: crypto companies must demonstrate real revenue and regulatory compliance to sustain public-market valuations.

Why this matters now

Coinbase opened the public-market door for crypto companies. Every subsequent crypto listing—including Abra's—is measured against Coinbase's trajectory of initial hype, brutal correction, and eventual recovery tied to institutional adoption.

2022-2023

The SPAC bust and Bakkt's collapse (2022-2023)

After 613 SPACs raised $162 billion in 2021, rising interest rates and disappointing results from merged companies caused a market-wide reckoning. De-SPAC companies lost an average of 67% of their value. Crypto exchange Bakkt, which went public through a SPAC in October 2021, lost more than 90% from its post-merger highs.

Then

SPAC activity collapsed to just 31 deals raising $3.9 billion in 2023. Many de-SPACed companies filed for bankruptcy. Both Circle and Bullish abandoned SPAC mergers.

Now

The bust reshaped the SPAC market. Survivors adopted stricter standards—real revenue targets, larger minimum cash conditions, institutional-grade due diligence—a model sometimes called 'SPAC 4.0.' But reputational damage lingers, and most successful crypto companies now choose traditional listings.

Why this matters now

Abra is choosing the SPAC route at a time when its peers have overwhelmingly preferred traditional initial public offerings. The 2022-2023 bust is the direct reason that choice carries extra scrutiny—and why the deal's redemption rate and post-listing performance will be watched as a test of whether crypto SPACs can work in the post-bust era.

July 2021 - June 2025

Circle's SPAC-to-IPO journey (2021-2025)

Stablecoin issuer Circle announced a SPAC merger with Concord Acquisition Corp in July 2021 at a valuation that eventually reached $9 billion. The deal collapsed in late 2022 as the crypto and SPAC markets simultaneously cratered.

Then

Circle spent two years rebuilding its public-market case, continuing to grow USDC stablecoin adoption and strengthening regulatory relationships.

Now

Circle completed a traditional initial public offering in June 2025 at an $18 billion valuation—double its failed SPAC price—with 25 to 30 times oversubscription. The journey demonstrated that patience and a traditional listing could deliver far better results than rushing through a SPAC.

Why this matters now

Circle's arc is the clearest precedent for evaluating Abra's SPAC choice. Circle tried a SPAC, failed, waited, and achieved a vastly better outcome through a traditional listing. Abra's decision to go the SPAC route anyway raises the question of whether Abra lacks the revenue profile or investor confidence to follow Circle's path.

Sources

(10)
+4
CoinDesk The Block Decrypt Cointelegraph SEC Yahoo Finance PitchBook Morningstar Foley & Lardner Yahoo Finance