Notable Bitcoin investor Chamath Palihapitiya has submitted documents to raise $250 million through 'American Exceptionalism Acquisition Corp A', targeting decentralized finance, artificial intelligence, energy, and defense sectors.
The special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) will be led by Social Capital managing partner Steven Trieu as CEO, with Palihapitiya as chairman, and the documents have been submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Plans to issue 25 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the AEXA code, at $10 per share.
Palihapitiya and Trieu are betting that decentralized finance, rather than Bitcoin, will lead financial innovation, focusing on the integration of traditional markets and blockchain technology.
Circle demonstrates how DeFi can 'disrupt' traditional finance.
They pointed out that the success of stablecoin issuer Circle shows how decentralized finance can reduce the role of traditional financial intermediaries, lower friction, and provide value to customers.
Palihapitiya's SPAC past performance has been mixed.
Palihapitiya led several well-known SPACs in 2020 and 2021, including some successful cases like SoFi Technologies, but also had many failed records that were liquidated.
Due to strict time constraints and regulatory pressure, SPACs face challenges in finding suitable merger targets.
Palihapitiya has stated that the crypto market in the U.S. is dead.
Two years ago, Palihapitiya criticized that the crypto industry is dead in the U.S., blaming former SEC Chairman Gary Gensler for launching a lawsuit war against crypto institutions.
Currently, most of these cases have been dismissed by the newly appointed friendly SEC, and a new special crypto task force is also drafting clearer regulations.