Here’s what happened in crypto today

Today in crypto, Adam Back’s Bitcoin treasury company heads back to the negotiating table over its planned SPAC merger with Cantor Equity Partners, the European Securities and Markets Authority launches a review of crypto custody providers following MiCA’s transition and StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson reignites debate over Bitcoin’s fixed 21 million supply cap.

Adam Back’s Bitcoin treasury SPAC deal with Cantor returns to the negotiating table

Adam Back’s Bitcoin treasury company is renegotiating its planned SPAC merger with Cantor Equity Partners I, delaying its anticipated public listing as both sides seek terms that better reflect current market conditions.

The Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company (BSTR), founded by the Blockstream CEO, and Cantor Equity Partners I have scrapped the original 2025 merger terms and will negotiate a revised agreement, though neither side disclosed what changes are on the table. The move also postpones a shareholder meeting that was set to approve the transaction.

Under the original deal, BSTR planned to contribute more than 30,000 BTC alongside $1.5 billion in PIPE financing, and the US Securities and Exchange Commission had already cleared the registration statement in June.

The revision comes as enthusiasm for Bitcoin treasury SPACs has cooled, with Cantor reportedly broadening its focus beyond crypto-focused vehicles. The development follows tokenization company Securitize’s recent NYSE debut through a separate Cantor-backed SPAC, though its shares have since fallen sharply from their post-listing highs.

Source: BSTR

ESMA turns spotlight on crypto custody risks after MiCA transition

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), a key EU regulator supporting the implementation of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, is launching a dedicated process for reviewing crypto custody providers.

ESMA plans to conduct a common supervisory action (CSA) focused on the operational resilience of crypto-asset service providers (CASPs), with a specific emphasis on custody services, according to an official announcement on Wednesday.

“The CSA will assess the maturity of CASPs’ digital operational resilience frameworks in relation to custody activities,” ESMA said, adding that the reviews will focus on areas including key and storage management, alongside other operational risks.

The move comes shortly after the end of MiCA’s transition phase on July 1, prompting increased attention to how EU authorities will supervise compliance with the new framework, including potential enforcement questions.

StarkWare CEO suggests 4% annual Bitcoin inflation to replace 21 million cap

The debate over whether Bitcoin's fixed supply cap should be lifted has resurfaced after StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson suggested Tuesday that it should replaced with a 4% annual issuance rate.

In a post to X on Tuesday, Ben-Sasson said the current 21 million cap “doesn't make sense” because private keys are lost over time and “as time goes to infinity, all keys will be lost.”

Crypto wallet hardware provider Ledger estimated in November that up to 4 million Bitcoin had been burned or permanently lost. Ben-Sasson said he still supports a hard upper bound on Bitcoin's supply, and that a 4% annual inflation rate roughly tracks the growth of the human population.

Bitcoin's fixed cap has long been one of its core selling points, underpinning the “digital gold” narrative and drawing on Austrian economics, where a fixed money supply protects against monetary debasement and, in theory, preserves purchasing power over time. Many Bitcoiners have argued that changing the cap would undo the very thing that makes Bitcoin unique. 

Bitcoiners have also said the loss of private keys improves Bitcoin’s supply-demand dynamics because one can’t sell what one doesn’t have access to. One of the biggest advocates of this feature is Strategy executive chairman Michael Saylor, who plans to burn his Bitcoin private keys upon his death as a “pro-rata contribution” to other Bitcoin holders, making their coins scarcer in the process.