Crypto Currents: Bitcoin Depot acquires National Bitcoin ATM assets

As bitcoin, ethereum and other cryptocurrencies see major legal, institutional, and technological developments, the financial landscape continues to adapt. Stay up on the crypto news that matters with the “Crypto Currents” weekly from The Fly. Also, join us for your essential daily recap, every day at 2 PM ET on FlyCast radio.

BITCOIN DEPOT ACQUIRES NATIONAL BITCOIN ATM ASSETS: Bitcoin Depot (BTM) announced Thursday the acquisition of the assets of Westcliff Technologies, d/b/a National Bitcoin ATM. The acquisition adds over 500 kiosks to Bitcoin Depot’s network. The additional kiosks complement Bitcoin Depot’s ongoing efforts to strengthen and expand its national footprint to bring more people into the crypto ecosystem. This acquisition brings Bitcoin Depot’s U.S. market share to roughly 30%.

“Adding National Bitcoin ATM’s kiosks significantly expands our reach and increases our leadership in cash-to-crypto access,” said Brandon Mintz, CEO. “This is exactly the kind of transaction that plays to our strengths–integrating a sizable network quickly and operating it more efficiently with our scale, compliance program, and customer support. As the industry matures, we believe our ability to bring fragmented operators under the Bitcoin Depot umbrella will continue to set us apart in the market.”

Additionally on Wednesday, Bitcoin Depot announced preliminary Q3 revenue of approximately $160M, which compares to analyst estimates of $146.16M. The company also expects to report an approximate 50% increase in adjusted EBITDA compared to the $9.2M reported in 3Q24.

“We are proud to report preliminary third quarter results that exceed our guidance for both revenue and adjusted EBITDA,” said Mintz. “Our growth reflects not only the strength of our BTM network and disciplined execution, but also the ongoing consumer adoption of cryptocurrency which led to kiosk performance exceeding expectations. These results underscore our ability to capitalize on long-term industry tailwinds while maintaining a sharp focus on profitability and shareholder value.”

Following the news, B. Riley raised the firm’s price target on Bitcoin Depot to $6 from $5.50 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The company pre-announced better than expected Q3 results, highlighting strong execution and consumer adoption as upside drivers, the analyst said.

BULLISH TO LAUNCH CRYPTO OPTIONS TRADING: Bullish (BLSH) announced  Wednesday the upcoming launch of crypto options trading expected on October 8, bolstered by a consortium of leading day-one trading partners. This new offering will further enhance Bullish’s ecosystem of crypto derivatives, providing institutional customers with a comprehensive product suite encompassing spot, margin, perpetual futures, dated futures, and now, options. Through close collaboration in the design phase with the industry’s largest options market-makers, risk takers, technology providers, and brokers, Bullish has built a product that aims to resolve the pain points that exist today in trading crypto options.

“Bullish is investing significantly in its institutional offering,” said Chris Tyrer, President of Bullish Exchange. “Our journey began with spot trading, expanded to include margin, then perpetual and dated futures, and now reaches a new milestone with the introduction of options. This is not just about adding a new product, it’s about delivering a complete derivatives product suite with market leading capital efficiency and risk mitigation, all accessible through a single, unified trading account.”

Additionally on Wednesday, Bullish announced the launch of spot trading in the United States. Bullish seeks to provide precision, efficiency, and compliance, offering no maker fees and low taker fees, deep liquidity powered by Automated Market Maker technology, and robust APIs for both institutions and advanced traders. The launch follows Bullish’s recent regulatory milestone of being granted a BitLicense and Money Transmission License by the New York State Department of Financial Services and trading is now live in 20 states.

“U.S. institutions deserve better execution, deeper liquidity, and platforms built for the unique demands of their respective strategies,” said Tyrer. “Our U.S. launch introduces a platform that we believe combines institutional-grade liquidity, cutting-edge technology, and cost efficiency to empower institutions and, for the first time, advanced individual traders. Bullish was created for institutions, and now we’re proud to offer the same level of performance to serious traders across the U.S.”

MOUNTAIN LAKE, AVALANCHE TREASURY ENTER COMBINATION AGREEMENT: Avalanche Treasury Co. announced Wednesday a definitive business combination agreement with Mountain Lake Acquisition Corp. (MLAC) valued at over $675M. The transaction includes approximately $460M in treasury assets and is designed to create a leading public vehicle for AVAX exposure. The combined company expects to list on Nasdaq in 1Q26, subject to regulatory and shareholder approval. AVAT launches with an initial AVAX token purchase at a discount to market price and 18-month priority on Avalanche Foundation sales to U.S. digital asset treasury companies. AVAT delivers an entry point of 0.77x multiple of net asset value for investors, a 23% discount compared to buying AVAX directly or through passive ETF alternatives. The goal of AVAT’s capital raising strategy is to own more than $1B worth of AVAX after becoming a public company, making it a foundational partner in the growing ecosystem and a leading public vehicle for institutional AVAX exposure.

“Many institutions have difficulty accessing digital assets or are limited to holding native tokens without yield or ecosystem integration. We created Avalanche Treasury Co. to offer something we believe will be more valuable than passive exposure,” said AVAT CEO Bart Smith. “This is a public company launching as an active, strategic partner within the Avalanche network, offering a level of integration and alignment that investors have been demanding.”

COINBASE UPGRADED TO BUY: On Friday, Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded Coinbase (COIN) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $417, up from $325. The firm still expects compression in the company’s take rate over time but believes its retail volume growth will help to mitigate this. It now sees “strong” growth in Coinbase’s institutional trading, reflecting, its growing institutional adoption of cryptoassets and the strength of the company’s positioning following investment into its derivatives capability.

Meanwhile, BofA lowered the firm’s price target on Coinbase to $340 from $369 and kept a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm, which remains bullish long-term on the online brokers due to multiple factors, is less positive in the near-term due to “a more expensive entry point” combined with the prospects of lower interest rates, the analyst said. The firm views Q3 as a “good quarter” for e-brokers but notes that expectations are high.

BTIG initiated coverage of Coinbase with a Buy rating and $410 price target. The company is investing in the right areas to create a platform and flywheel between its classic trading business and digital asset applications, the analyst said. The firm believes Coinbase’s “rapidly scaling” derivatives business and Base App are two growth opportunities underappreciated by investors.

CIPHER MINING PRICE TARGET RAISES: On Tuesday, Needham raised the firm’s price target on Cipher Mining (CIFR) to $15 from $10 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The Fluidstack lease is seen as more attractive than previously anticipated as Cipher will retain 100% of the economics for the first 168MW, the analyst said, adding that the firm had expected a JV arrangement initially.

Canaccord raised the firm’s price target on Cipher to (GOOG), but also by what is now a materially lower cost of capital moving forward. The target increase reflects the introduction of a discounted free cash flow estimate for its Barber Lake facility.

Additionally, H.C. Wainwright raised the firm’s price target on Cipher to AI hosting contract with Fluidstack. A lease backstop from Google significantly reduces the project’s risk profile and increases its ability to be funded, said the analyst, who views the “seemingly ambitious timeline” as achievable given the Cipher team’s strong track record of developing greenfield sites.

Northland raised the firm’s price target on Cipher to $14.50 from $7 and kept an Outperform rating on the shares. The deal with Fluidstack, supported by a $1.4B backstop from Google, is “a major milestone” for Cipher that sets the stage for the next phase of growth, the analyst said.

Meanwhile, Rosenblatt raised the firm’s price target on Cipher to $14 from $9 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The firm views the company’s first high performance compute contract as a “transformation transaction.” The agreement with Fluidstack and Google is a “hugely positive transaction,” cementing Cipher’s status as a key HPC hosting provider, the analyst said. Rosenblatt believes Cipher “is just getting started.”

OTHER CRYPTO NEWS:

• Riot Platforms (RIOT) price target raised to $24.50 from $17 at Northland
• Circle Internet (CRCL) initiated with a Market Perform at Citizens JMP, with a Neutral at Rothschild & Co Redburn
• TeraWulf (WULF) price target raised to $16 from $12 at Clear Street, to $14.50 from $12 at Rosenblatt
• Bitmine Immersion (BMNR) announces total crypto and cash holdings of $11.6B
• Strategy (MSTR) acquires 196 bitcoin for an aggregate purchase price of $22.1M
• Galaxy Digital (GLXY) price target raised to $42 from $36 at Piper Sandler
• Bakkt (BKKT) price target raised to $42 from $14 at Clear Street
• Visa (V) to launch a stablecoin pilot through Visa Direct
• Soluna (SLNH), Canaan (CAN) to deploy 20 MW of bitcoin miners at Texas data center
• Canaan receives order for over 50,000 Avalon A15 Pro miners
• Canaan price target raised to $1.75 from $1.50 at Northland
• CME Group (CME) to offer around-the-clock trading for crypto futures, options

CRYPTO STOCK PLAYS: Publicly traded companies in the space include Bit Digital (BTBT), Coinbase, Core Scientific (CORZ), Greenidge Generation (GREE), Mara Holdings (MARA), Strategy, Riot Platforms and TeraWulf.

PRICE ACTION: As time of writing, bitcoin rose roughly 10% this week to $120,327 in U.S. dollars, according to CoinDesk.