A former Tether co-founder and Blackstone executive are plotting to raise $1 billion to establish a digital asset treasury for a public company they aim to take listings through, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

The venture, backed by ex-Blackstone executive Chinh Chu and stablecoin veteran Reeve Collins, will utilize M-3 Brigade Acquisition V Corp., a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC), to amass the funding. Industry sources familiar with the planning confirmed the scope to Bloomberg.

The Core Strategy: Digital Assets in Public Treasury

The new corporate structure’s treasury is expected to hold multiple digital assets, prominently including Bitcoin, Solana, and Ethereum. This approach mirrors successful corporate treasury models in the cryptocurrency sphere.

According to the report, these assets would constitute the operating capital for the company intended for SPAC listing.

Context: Rising Crypto Treasuries

The timing of this ambitious plan aligns with a marked increase in publicly traded corporate treasuries holding cryptocurrency assets. This surge is attributed to higher crypto asset valuations following several months of significant market appreciation, alongside a more supportive political environment.

The trend gained momentum after MicroStrategy, rebranded as Strategy, pioneered this investment approach by shifting its focus to Bitcoin dominance in 2020.

Data from bitcointreasuries.net indicates over 250 entities hold Bitcoin across corporate balance sheets, valued collectively at hundreds of billions of dollars. This includes more than 141 publicly traded companies. The dataset shows this number has grown 13% over the last month.

The appeal has expanded beyond Bitcoin, with companies exploring corporate treasuries for other assets like Ethereum and XRP. Notable recent examples include SharpLink Gaming’s approximately $425 million funding round for an Ethereum treasury, earning comparisons to the Strategy model.

Market Environment: Crypto Boom Fuels SPAC Surge

This initiative occurs alongside exceptionally robust conditions within the SPAC market. Management’s diverse team consists of seasoned professionals with strong backgrounds in deal-making and corporate finance.

The COLM team brings unique expertise: Reeve Collins, who co-founded the stablecoin phenomenon Tether; and Chinh Chu, formerly a senior leader at one of the world’s largest alternative asset managers and a proven SPAC creator.

Market data from SPACanalytics.com highlights an extraordinary year-to-date performance in the SPAC sector: 61 SPAC offerings have raised approximately $12.3 billion in their debut weeks. This dwarfs the total raised by 57 SPACs last year which were $9.6 billion over the entire year.

About the Team: Experience in Extreme Finance Environments

Hailing from different but high-stakes corners of the financial services industry:

• Reeve Collins: Longtime figure in cryptocurrency, co-founding Tether (2013-2015), now advising SPACs.
• Chinh Chu: Credentialed 20-year Blackstone veteran leading five SPAC dealmaking efforts since 2016.

These backgrounds suggest the SPAC will target experienced investors looking for exposure to institutional-grade digital assets packaged within a public company structure.