Key Takeaways

• Fold will go public via a merger with FTAC Emerald Acquisition Corp. in a transaction that is expected to be finalized in the fourth quarter of this year.

• The financial services company allows users to easily move in and out of bitcoin, while also enabling bitcoin-denominated cashback rewards for normal spending habits.

• Fold can be seen as a competitor to Block's Cash App, with an even heavier focus on bitcoin.

Bitcoin-focused financial services provider Fold intends to go public via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), FTAC Emerald Acquisition Corp. (EMLD).

Fold offers a cashback debit card and enables the ability to buy and sell bitcoin directly from Fold accounts, among other services. It could be considered a small competitor to Block's (SQ) Cash App product, which also facilitates the buying and selling of bitcoin and previously has enabled cashback rewards denominated in the cryptocurrency.

The merger, expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2024 after regulatory approvals, pegs Fold's valuation at $365 million and will lead to its shares being trading on the Nasdaq.

Fold's Bitcoin Treasury Could Be an Asset

Fold also has another advantage—it will own bitcoin (BTC).

"It is anticipated that post-transaction Fold will have more than 1,000 BTC on its consolidated balance sheet. Fold expects to use the proceeds to accelerate the growth of Fold’s operations and treasury," the company said in a statement Wednesday. At Wednesday's bitcoin prices of nearly $66,000, that holding would be valued at roughly $66 million.

Once listed, Fold will join a list of storied public companies with bitcoin on their books. MicroStrategy (MSTR) is the most noteworthy, with a stash of 214,400 bitcoins as of April 26, that at current prices (assuming no change in the size of the holding) would be valued at roughly $14 billion. Block also held 8,038 bitcoin as of March 31 (currently valued at more than $530 million) on its balance sheet.

Optimism surrounding spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and bitcoin halving earlier this year, and, more recently, the U.S. presidential elections, has driven bitcoin prices higher this year, and that has translated into stock gains for some of the companies that own it. For example, bitcoin has gained about 49% year-to-date, and shares of MicroStrategy are up almost 165% over the same period.

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