Bitcoin miner Cipher going public through $2 billion SPAC merger

Representative image (Pixabay/tombark)

Cipher Mining Inc, the US-based Bitcoin mining company, announced on March 5 that it would go public through a  merger with blank-check firm Good Works Acquisition Corp.

The SPAC merger deal is valued at $2 billion, the company said. The transaction, according to a Reuters report, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021.

Subsequent to the merger announcement, shares of Good Works surged by 15.9 percent to reach $11.59 after markets opened for trading.

Cipher’s bid to go public comes at a time when other crypto firms are also planning a similar move, despite regulatory uncertainty.

Coinbase, the biggest US cryptocurrency exchange, is awaiting regulatory clearances after it moved closer to listing its shares on the Nasdaq in February 2021.

Traditionally, investors have remained distinctly wary when it comes to cryptocurrencies due to its unregulated nature. According to experts, the perception would be changed after successful stock market launches from the likes of Coinbase.

The near-future of digital coins would depend on the decision to be taken by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on crypto listings.

"I do see a future where the SEC will continue to analyse and hopefully embrace bitcoin in particular. All of crypto is a much bigger question,” Cipher Mining Chief Executive Officer Tyler Page told Reuters.

“We wanted to get to market quickly and efficiently and after evaluating different paths, the SPAC market allowed us to get to market the quickest,” Page said, when asked why the firm chose the SPAC route.

Following the Cipher-Good Works deal, the merged entity would be provided with gross cash proceeds of $595 million, which includes $425 million from investors including Fidelity Management & Research Company and Morgan Stanley’s Counterpoint Global.