August 31st – September 6th
PERSPECTIVES by Eric F. Risley
This time is not likely to be different.
Let’s again examine Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) mergers. In June 2026 we shared the hard truth borne out by the data: SPAC merger successes are few and far between. At that time we pointed to the pending debuts of Securitize and OpenPayd with hope. How have things developed since then?
Let’s refresh the facts. Since January 1, 2020, twenty-one crypto | digital asset mergers with SPACs have been announced. Eleven of these closed, eight were terminated before close and two (Abra and OpenPayd) remain pending.
Since our June overview, the Securitize deSPAC (deSPAC = close of a SPAC merger with an operating company) closed and began trading on July 2, 2026. This offers an instructive assessment of how the markets receive a new deSPAC. The first day of trading was promising, with the stock rallying 4%; however, 60 days later the stock had declined a disappointing 45%, and today it sits down 37%.
Unfortunately, this general declining pattern has repeated time and again. In fact, the data is catastrophic. At the 60-day anniversary for each of these eleven deSPACs, all but one were trading below their deSPAC closing price, with a median decline of 42%.
The broader group of financial technology deSPACs offers a similar set of lessons. 76% traded below their pre-close price on their 60-day anniversary, with a median decline of 27%.
No, time has not healed the wounds as a rule. Today, only three crypto | digital asset deSPACs are above their initial close price, and all three are Bitcoin miners that have transitioned to become AI datacenters. The median loss in stock price across the entire group is 66%. The facts are virtually the same for the broader financial technology deSPAC universe.
Why do SPACs still exist?