Coincheck, a major cryptocurrency exchange in Japan, announced plans on Friday to complete its listing on Nasdaq through a merger with special purpose acquisition firm (SPAC) Thunder Bridge Capital Partners IV on July 2, 2023.

Coincheck said plans to pursue a public offering of shares in the US through Nasdaq would give the firm access to the country’s lucrative capital markets.

The exchange said the move would allow it to expand its crypto asset business by accessing the US capital markets, gain exposure to global investors, and recruit talent to realize its growth strategy. Coincheck’s majority owner, Monex Group, testified in a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.

Coincheck announced its public listing ambitions in March of this year. During that time, its merger with Thunder Bridge Capital was valued at $1.25 billion.

SPACs were the most popular way crypto companies use to hit the public market in 2020 and 2021, but the craze has cooled this year amid a general market downturn coupled with additional regulations from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Securities (SEC).

Since June of this year, the SEC is now more cautious about the overall SPAC process, especially crypto-linked deals, to enhance investor protection.

SPACs have generally been very volatile and on a downward trajectory this year. Crypto firms looking to go public via SPACs may be running out of time to close deals as they appear stuck on the sidelines after failing to find a buy target.

Circle Internet Financial, the backer of the USD Coin “stablecoin”, has been trying to go public with a SPAC called Concord Acquisition (CND) since July last year.

Also on the sidelines is a cryptocurrency/SPAC deal between eToro Group, an Israel-based online brokerage firm, and FinTech Acquisition Corp. V (FTCV), a SPAC backed by financier veteran Betsy Cohen. The companies called off their merger in early July after they failed to close the transaction by a June 30 deadline. The lack of clearance from the SEC was one of the reasons the deal fell through.

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