The value of AVAX, the native token for the Avalanche blockchain, surged after a new company disclosed plans to go public in the US and acquire over $1 billion worth of the token.
The company, Avalanche Treasury Co., announced on Wednesday that it would merge with the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Mountain Lake Acquisition Corp. in a deal exceeding $675 million.
The newly formed company anticipates a Nasdaq listing in the first quarter of 2026 under the ticker symbol “AVAT,” pending regulatory and shareholder approval.
Emin Gün Sirer, the founder and CEO of the Avalanche blockchain development firm Ava Labs, will serve as an adviser to the company.
This venture will be the second treasury company focusing on Avalanche, joining a growing number of firms either going public or shifting towards acquiring and holding cryptocurrencies this year.
Avalanche Treasury Co. targets $1 billion in AVAX holdings
Avalanche Treasury Co. stated it has an “exclusive relationship” with the Avalanche Foundation, an entity that supports the blockchain, which reportedly intends to sell millions of Avalanche (AVAX) tokens at a discounted rate to treasury companies.
The treasury company aims to hold more than $1 billion worth of AVAX post-IPO, with its initial capital raise “resulting in approximately $460 million in treasury assets funded.”
AVAX price increased shortly after the announcement, reaching an intraday peak of $31.32. Although it has since cooled, it remains up 2.3% in the last 24 hours, according to CoinGecko.
Several crypto-focused venture firms and companies supported the merger, including Dragonfly, VanEck, FalconX, Monarq, Galaxy Digital, Pantera Capital, CoinFund, and Kraken.
Bart Smith, the former CEO of significant crypto market maker Susquehanna Crypto, has been appointed CEO of Avalanche Treasury Co.
Avalanche Treasury Co. intends to be proactive on-chain
The company plans to undertake various activities to generate revenue “beyond passive accumulation” and be active on the Avalanche blockchain.
It will deploy capital through “targeted protocol investments,” assist enterprises in tokenizing real-world assets and stablecoins, and develop its own validator infrastructure.
“Many institutions struggle with accessing digital assets or are restricted to holding native tokens without yield or ecosystem integration,” Smith remarked. “We established Avalanche Treasury Co. to provide something we believe will be more valuable than mere passive exposure.”
Related: SEC trading halt of crypto treasury firm QMMM is a TradFi issue
The company is set to join others like AgriFORCE Growing Systems, which announced on September 22 that it will rebrand as AVAX One and acquire $700 million worth of AVAX.
Company aims to offer “discount” compared to token
Avalanche Treasury Co. plans to debut “with an initial AVAX token purchase at a discount to market price and 18-month priority on Avalanche Foundation sales to US digital asset treasury companies.”
The company targets a multiple of net asset value (mNAV) of 0.77, presenting it as a “23% discount compared to purchasing AVAX directly.”
However, analysts from NYDIG recently contended that the mNAV metric is misleading, as it does not accurately represent a company’s financial condition.
Magazine: Meet the Ethereum and Polkadot co-founder who wasn’t in Time Magazine
