Cantor Fitzgerald is about to make its biggest crypto play yet, a $4 billion deal that would make the 78-year-old Wall Street firm one of the most aggressive institutional buyers of Bitcoin in the world. The vehicle for the move is a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, guided by the firm’s new leadership, and stocked with one of the oldest names in crypto: Adam Back.
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At the center of the deal is 27-year-old Brandon Lutnick, newly minted chair of Cantor Fitzgerald and son of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Through Cantor Equity Partners 1, a SPAC that raised $200 million in January, Lutnick is now in advanced talks with Adam Back. Back is the founder of Blockstream and a cryptographer whose work was cited in Satoshi Nakamoto’s original Bitcoin white paper.
Lutnick Looks to Cement Wall Street-Crypto Convergence
Cantor’s goal is to use Cantor Equity Partners 1 to absorb $3 billion worth of Bitcoin directly from Adam Back’s personal holdings. On top of that, the SPAC plans to raise an additional $800 million from outside investors, which would allow it to expand its Bitcoin war chest even further. Once the deal is finalized, the vehicle would be renamed BSTR Holdings, effectively becoming a public proxy for one of the largest Bitcoin treasuries in existence.
The size and scope of this deal show just how ambitious Cantor is. It reads like a company making an aggressive, full-scale push to dominate corporate Bitcoin ownership. And this isn’t coming out of nowhere. Back in April, Lutnick helped broker another major crypto acquisition involving SoftBank (SFTBY) and Tether, valued at $3.6 billion. If this latest deal with Blockstream goes through, Cantor’s two crypto-aligned vehicles, BSTR and Twenty One Capital, could collectively hold up to $10 billion in digital assets by year’s end.
Adam Back Is a Cryptography Legend
For Adam Back, his legacy in the crypto world is foundational. He developed Hashcash in 1997, the very proof-of-work system that would later power Bitcoin mining. His fingerprints are all over the DNA of digital currency. Now, with Blockstream backed by giants like Khosla Ventures and Baillie Gifford, he’s switching from protocol theory to capital markets.
Back’s decision to exchange up to 30,000 Bitcoin for shares in a SPAC isn’t just a transfer of assets, it’s a signal that crypto OGs are now playing in the same sandbox as Wall Street’s next-gen leadership. And the timing couldn’t be more telling: the deal may land during “crypto week” on Capitol Hill, as Republican lawmakers debate sweeping legislation to regulate digital currencies.
Michael Saylor’s Name Comes to Mind
If the name Michael Saylor comes to mind, it should. This is the very strategy that transformed Strategy (MSTR) into a Bitcoin whale, and it’s since become the blueprint for institutional hoarding. Now, others are catching on. Cantor’s strategy of using blank-check companies to buy and hold crypto mirrors the approach of Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) and promoter Anthony Pompliano, both of whom are launching their own digital asset buying vehicles.
What makes this one stand out is the cross-generational, cross-sector nature of the deal. Wall Street pedigree meets cryptographic purity. Lutnick brings the regulatory polish and market access, while Back brings credibility and a Bitcoin war chest. That synergy, along with nearly $1 billion in dry powder, positions Cantor as a top-of-market crypto consolidator.
What Are the Implications?
The implications here are enormous. If finalized, the deal would make Cantor one of the most significant public holders of Bitcoin, with exposure exceeding even long-established crypto firms. And because it’s structured through a SPAC, it offers an immediate listing and liquidity path for traditional investors eager to back Bitcoin without holding the asset directly.
Back, meanwhile, continues to place big bets on Bitcoin-adjacent businesses. This year alone, he’s funded a €5 million raise for The Blockchain Group in Paris and a $15 million bond for Swedish Bitcoin-treasury player H100 Group.
For crypto markets, deals like this represent a fresh breed of corporate adoption, one that is more financialized, more strategic, and far more willing to take size. If BSTR Holdings hits the market as expected, expect others to follow suit.
And if the U.S. government passes crypto legislation during “crypto week,” it could mark the beginning of a much more regulated, much more institutionalized Bitcoin economy; one where public companies, backed by billions in capital, race to grab supply.
Investors can stay on top of real-time prices, market trends, and top-performing digital assets through the TipRanks Cryptocurrency Center.
