Early Bitcoin investor and billionaire Chamath Palihapitiya has filed to raise $250 million in blank-check company “American Exceptionalism Acquisition Corp A,” targeting the decentralized finance, AI, energy and defense sectors.

The special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) would be led by Social Capital managing partner Steven Trieu as CEO and Palihapitiya as chairman, according to the registration statement filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday. 

The $250 million raise seeks to offer 25 million shares at $10 each under the ticker AEXA on the New York Stock Exchange.

Palihapitiya and Trieu are betting on decentralized finance, not Bitcoin, to lead the next wave of financial innovation, focusing on solutions that bridge traditional markets with blockchain technology:

“While Mr. Palihapitiya has long been a proponent of Bitcoin as an inflation hedge and alternative to fiat currencies, we believe that the next stage of development is the increased integration between traditional finance and decentralized finance.” 

Circle showed DeFi can ‘disintermediate’ TradFi, execs say

The pair pointed to the success of stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group’s recent public listing, stating it “demonstrated how decentralized finance can be used to disintermediate traditional finance intermediaries and provide clear value for customers via reduced friction.”

The venture capitalists acknowledged the path toward mainstream acceptance of crypto and stablecoins has “taken longer than expected,” but that path “now appears to be inevitable.”

Palihapitiya has mixed results with past SPACs

Palihapitiya led several high-profile SPACs during 2020 and 2021, including successful mergers involving Social Capital Suvretta Holdings I and Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings V, now operating as SoFi Technologies.

However, other SPACs led by Palihapitiya, such as Social Capital Suvretta Holdings II, III, and IV, were liquidated, giving him a mixed record. 

SPACs face challenges because they are bound by strict time limits to find a private company to merge with, often struggle to identify companies worthy of high valuations, and operate under considerable regulatory scrutiny.

Palihapitiya once denounced crypto as dead in America

The naming of Palihapitiya’s American-themed SPAC comes two years after he declared the crypto industry “Dead in America,” pointing the finger at former SEC chair Gary Gensler for pursuing dozens of high-profile lawsuits against crypto firms.

Related: Ether ETFs smash records as crypto products see $3.75B inflows

Critics labeled Gensler’s crackdown part of “Operation Choke Point 2.0” — an alleged coordinated effort by regulators to pressure banks into distancing themselves from crypto firms.

Many of those cases, including ones against Coinbase and Ripple, have been dismissed under the new crypto-friendly SEC led by Paul Atkins, which has also created a Crypto Task Force to provide clearer rules while balancing innovation with consumer protection.

Magazine: How Ethereum treasury companies could spark ‘DeFi Summer 2.0

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bitcoin-bull-and-billionaire-files-for-250m-spac-targeting-defi-ai/feed/ 0 53952 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/pantera-ondo-launch-250m-fund-to-drive-rwa-tokenization/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/pantera-ondo-launch-250m-fund-to-drive-rwa-tokenization/#respond Fri, 04 Jul 2025 06:13:58 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/pantera-ondo-launch-250m-fund-to-drive-rwa-tokenization/

Ondo Finance and Pantera Capital have launched a $250 million fund to accelerate investments in tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), Axios reported on July 3.

According to the report, the fund, named Ondo Catalyst, will invest in equity stakes and tokens of projects developing tokenized versions of traditional financial assets.

Ian De Bode, chief strategy officer at Ondo, told the newswire that the tokenization market is witnessing an “arms race” as exchanges and protocols expand into tokenized stocks and exchange-traded fund offerings.

Recent initiatives reflect this momentum. Robinhood launched a layer-2 blockchain to enable European clients to trade tokenized US stocks and ETFs.

In May, Kraken announced plans to offer tokenized US stock trading to investors outside the United States, while Coinbase is reportedly pursuing regulatory approval to provide tokenized equities.

Ondo Finance has been expanding its role in blockchain-based capital markets this year. The firm launched Ondo Global Markets to connect traditional finance with blockchain infrastructure and formed a Global Markets Alliance with other crypto companies to drive adoption.

The tokenized RWA mark

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Assad Jafri

Editor & Reporter at CryptoSlate

AJ, a passionate journalist since Yemen’s 2011 Arab Spring, has honed his skills worldwide for over a decade. Specializing in financial journalism, he now focuses on crypto reporting.

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CryptoSlate is a comprehensive and contextualized source for crypto news, insights, and data. Focusing on Bitcoin, macro, DeFi and AI.

A crypto wallet tied to London-based investment firm Abraxas Capital has made headlines after purchasing nearly $250 million worth of Bitcoin in the four days leading up to Easter.

The firm acquired 2,949 BTC, signaling renewed institutional confidence in the cryptocurrency amid global trade tensions and an approaching Easter weekend.

According to blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain, which cited Arkham Intelligence data, Abraxas’ latest purchase included over $45 million in Bitcoin from Binance on April 18 alone.

MicroStrategy’s $285M Bitcoin Buy Sets the Stage for Institutional Accumulation

The acquisition follows closely behind MicroStrategy’s announcement that it had bought $285 million worth of Bitcoin at an average price of $82,618 per coin.

The move by Michael Saylor’s company further reinforced the bullish stance held by major corporate players.

The broader accumulation trend among institutional investors and crypto whales is continuing.

Recent data shows that these large holders are collectively buying up more than three times the amount of new Bitcoin being mined each year.

Despite such accumulation, analysts are keeping a close eye on medium-term holders—those who typically hold Bitcoin for three to six months—who have recently released over 170,000 BTC into circulation.

Still, concerns linger. The past two weekends have seen notable disruptions in the crypto markets.

On April 13, the price of Mantra (OM) plunged over 90% in a single day, sparking manipulation concerns.

A week earlier, Bitcoin had dipped below $75,000 as global investors reacted to a record $5 trillion sell-off in the S&P 500.

As reported, 10x Research’s head of research Markus Thielen has argued that Bitcoin may be entering a period of extended consolidation.

In a recent market note, Thielen warned that short-term technical signals are painting a more cautious picture, even as many analysts forecast new all-time highs by mid-year.

Thielen pointed to the Bitcoin stochastic oscillator, a technical indicator that measures momentum, suggesting the market is displaying traits more consistent with a late-cycle top than the beginning of a new bull run.

Lyn Alden Says Bitcoin Would Be Higher if Not for Trump’s Tariff Shock

Prominent macroeconomist Lyn Alden believes Bitcoin is on track to finish 2025 above its current price of around $85,000.

“Before all this tariff kerfuffle, I would have had a higher price target,” Alden said during a recent interview.

While she still expects Bitcoin to post gains by year-end, Alden noted that the tariffs introduced in February have tempered her earlier bullish outlook.

Alden explained that a major liquidity boost could push Bitcoin toward more ambitious targets.

Such a scenario might occur if the U.S. bond market faces a crisis, prompting the Federal Reserve to respond with quantitative easing or yield curve control.

Despite current macro headwinds, Alden believes there is still a “good chance” Bitcoin surpasses the $100,000 mark in 2025.

However, she warned that global market volatility remains a key obstacle, especially because Bitcoin trades continuously — unlike traditional equity markets with limited trading hours.

“Because it trades 24/7, if people are worried about how things are going to open on Monday, some pools of capital can sell their Bitcoin on a Sunday and prepare,” she said.

The post Abraxas Capital Wallet Acquires Nearly $250M in Bitcoin Ahead of Easter appeared first on Cryptonews.

Whales and institutions are increasing their Bitcoin holdings ahead of Easter, as market analysts predict a weekend with less volatility after two weeks of heightened volatility driven by escalating global trade tensions.

London-based investment firm Abraxas Capital acquired 2,949 Bitcoin (BTC) worth more than $250 million during the four days leading up to April 19.

In the latest transaction, the firm bought over $45 million worth of Bitcoin from Binance on April 18, according to crypto intelligence firm Lookonchain, citing Arkham Intelligence data.

The investment came days after Michael Saylor’s Strategy bought $285 million worth of Bitcoin at an average price of $82,618 per BTC, as the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holders signal continued confidence in Bitcoin, amid global tariff uncertainty.

Large Bitcoin investors, or whales, continue accumulating, absorbing over 300% of Bitcoin’s yearly issuance as exchanges continue losing coins at a historic pace, Cointelegraph reported on April 18.

Related: Spar supermarket in Switzerland starts accepting Bitcoin payments

Crypto analysts eye quiet Easter weekend after weeks of turmoil

Despite continued accumulation from whales and institutions, volatility concerns were raised by significant movements from the medium-term Bitcoin cohort, which holds coins for an average of three to six months.

Over 170,000 Bitcoin entered circulation from the medium-term cohort, a development that may signal “imminent” crypto market volatility, according to pseudonymous CryptoQuant analyst Mignolet.

“The effect of this metric on LTF moves is overstated as large onchain movement of coins hardly ever affects weekend price action since it’s not on liquid markets or CEX markets,” analysts at Bitfinex exchange told Cointelegraph, adding:

“It is important to note that funding rates remain relatively flat currently. Moreover, US markets are closed as we have a long weekend for Easter, so volatility could be suppressed barring headlines from the White House.”

Related: Crypto, DeFi may widen wealth gap, destabilize finance: BIS report

Marcin Kazmierczak, chief operating officer of RedStone Oracles, added that the recent movements may be operational transfers, not necessarily signs of imminent selling pressure.

Still, concerns over weekend volatility have been amplified over the past two weeks after the Mantra (OM) token’s price collapsed by over 90% on Sunday, April 13, from roughly $6.30 to below $0.50, triggering market manipulation allegations and highlighting “critical” liquidity issues in the industry.

Two weeks ago, on April 6, Bitcoin fell below $75,000 on Sunday, as investor concerns spread from a record-breaking  $5 trillion sell-off from the S&P 500, its largest on record.

The correction was caused by Bitcoin’s 24/7 trading availability, which made it the only large liquid asset available for de-risking on Sunday, Blockstream CEO Adam Back told Cointelegraph.

“On a weekend, there’s not much volume. So you have a worse risk of rapid sort of flash crashes or flash dips that get filled in again,” he said.

Magazine: Bitcoin ATH sooner than expected? XRP may drop 40%, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 23 – 29

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/uk-firm-buys-250m-bitcoin-as-analysts-eye-quiet-easter-weekend/feed/ 0 31690 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/dwf-labs-debuts-250m-fund-to-power-web3-innovation/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/dwf-labs-debuts-250m-fund-to-power-web3-innovation/#respond Mon, 24 Mar 2025 23:07:23 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/dwf-labs-debuts-250m-fund-to-power-web3-innovation/