Japanese exchange Coincheck set for Nasdaq listing through SPAC merger

Japanese exchange Coincheck is set to join Coinbase as one of the two publicly listed exchanges in the United States, according to a May 8 statement.

The crypto trading platform expects to complete its listing on the Nasdaq via a partnership with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Thunder Bridge Capital Partners IV (THCP) by the second or third quarter of this year.

When the merger is completed, Coincheck Group BV will be renamed Coincheck Group NV and listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol CNCK. The company submitted the confidential registration statement, Form F-4, to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on May 7.

Using a SPAC, the exchange will not have to go through the initial public offering process like Coinbase. SPACs are already public companies, which means all they do is invest in or merge with private companies.

However, Coincheck’s decision to go public via an SPAC might be a source of concern for investors, given how poorly most SPACs have performed in the public market.

In 2023, at least 21 firms that went public by merging with SPACs went bankrupt. The capitalization of companies that went public via SPAC has also dropped significantly, resulting in $46 billion in investor losses.

Coincheck is one of the largest crypto exchanges in Japan, with 1.98 million verified users. It has operated since 2014 and has a solid reputation spanning almost a decade.

US unfavorable regulatory regime

Coincheck’s public listing plans come as the SEC increased its regulatory scrutiny of the emerging industry.

Over the past month, the financial regulator has served crypto firms like Consensys, decentralized exchange Uniswap, and Robinhood’s crypto arm with Wells Notices. The financial regulator contends that these firms’ operations violated local securities law.

In a recent interview, SEC Chair Gary Gensler reiterated that most cryptocurrencies are securities tokens and argued that these assets lack the necessary disclosures to protect investors.

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