David Bailey, CEO of crypto media company BTC Inc. and a close adviser to US President Donald Trump on digital assets, has reportedly raised $300 million to launch a new Bitcoin investment firm.

The venture, named Nakamoto after the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, aims to become a publicly traded company focused on acquiring and holding the cryptocurrency, CNBC reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The Information was first to cover the story.

The funding round, which has been quietly in motion since January, includes $200 million in equity and $100 million in convertible debt, a source familiar with the matter told CNBC.

While the firm has not officially announced the raise, an official reveal and merger with a Nasdaq-listed company is expected as early as next week. The combined entity is set to go public this summer, per the report.

“No comment,” Bailey wrote in a May 7 post on X, apparently in response to the news about the Bitcoin (BTC) investment firm.

Source: David Bailey

Related: Texas House committee passes Bitcoin reserve bill for full floor vote

New Bitcoin firms are launching

Nakamoto’s strategy is modeled on that of companies like Strategy, which transformed itself into a Bitcoin-holding powerhouse under Michael Saylor.

The firm will invest in and acquire businesses globally, in countries such as Brazil, Thailand and South Africa, while deploying Bitcoin as part of its capital structure.

The venture is reportedly backed by high-profile investors and includes an advisory board featuring several prominent figures from the financial and crypto sectors.

Bailey’s move comes amid renewed enthusiasm for institutional Bitcoin investment, following a series of major fundraising announcements from firms like Twenty One and Strive Asset Management.

Related: Trump-linked Strive files for ‘Bitcoin Bond’ ETF

On April 24, Twenty One Capital, led by Strike founder Jack Mallers with the support of Tether, SoftBank and Cantor Fitzgerald, said it was looking to supplant Saylor’s Strategy to become the “superior vehicle for investors seeking capital-efficient Bitcoin exposure.”

On May 7, Strive Asset Management, founded by entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, also revealed plans to transition into a Bitcoin treasury company.

Source: David Bailey

The firm is going public through a reverse merger and plans to use the combined company’s stock to accumulate Bitcoin. Once the deal closes, Strive plans to issue about $1 billion in equity and debt and use the proceeds to accumulate BTC. 

“The pace of these new BTC companies launching is accelerating,” crypto influencer TylerD said in a post on X.

Magazine: Bitcoin’s $100K push wakes taxman, Vitalik visits real Moo Deng: Asia Express

Bitcoiners expect Bitcoin to soon break past $100,000 and potentially hit a new all-time high as US President Donald Trump is set to announce a trade deal with the UK.

Trump said in a May 7 Truth Social post that a “major trade deal” with a “big, and highly respected, country” would be announced on May 8, which The New York Times reported would be the UK, citing three people familiar with the plans.

Bitcoin inches toward $100,000

When Trump published his post, Bitcoin (BTC) was trading at around $97,759 and has since crept up closer to the psychological $100,000 price level to trade at $99,140 at the time of publication, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Bitcoin is trading at $99,140 at the time of publication. Source: CoinMarketCap

Several Bitcoiners and analysts are crediting the rally toward $100,000 to speculation surrounding the trade deal.

Australian crypto exchange BTC Markets’ head of finance, Charlie Sherry, told Cointelegraph that “as everyone else was looking down and calling for lower,” Bitcoin’s price did the opposite.

“As is often the case in markets, just when consensus leans heavily bearish, price bottoms form and new market structures start to emerge.”

Sherry said it is possible that the trade deal is already getting priced into Bitcoin.

“While we may see psychological resistance at the $100k mark, it seems inevitable Bitcoin puts another zero on the board,” Sherry added.

FOMO21 co-founder Neil Jacobs said on X that the Bitcoin rally was primarily due to Trump’s announcement. 

Crypto entrepreneur Anthony Pompliano said the incoming trade deal “means odds are increasing we hit new all-time highs in 2025.” 

Bitcoin reached its current all-time high of $109,000 on Jan. 20, just hours before Trump’s inauguration.

Pandora CEO Sahib Anandsongvit said that he “can’t stop to think” how Bitcoin was $80,000 only a few weeks ago, pointing out Bitcoin’s $98,000 price at the time of the post and reiterating Trump’s looming trade deal. Bitcoin last traded at the $80,000 price level on April 11 and only reclaimed $90,000 on April 22.

Related: Bitcoin returns to $98K as Fed holds rates steady despite Trump’s demand

Trump’s post came just hours after the US Federal Reserve announced that it would keep interest rates at 4.25% to 4.50% despite mounting pressure from Trump to lower interest rates.

Bitcoin has not hit $100,000 since Feb. 1 after Trump proposed import tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico. Meanwhile, crypto market participants appear to be more bullish on the overall market, with the Crypto & Fear Index reading a “Greed” score of 65.

Bitcoin’s 3% increase over the past 24 hours has led to approximately $96 million in short positions liquidated, according to CoinGlass data.

Magazine: Adam Back says Bitcoin price cycle is’ 10x bigger’, has’ empathy’ for ETF buyers

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Group of Seven (G7) leaders could discuss North Korea’s escalating cyberattacks and crypto thefts at an upcoming summit in Canada, mid-next month.

Conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza will dominate discussions, but North Korea’s increasing cyber threats and crypto hacks have become a major concern requiring a coordinated international response, Bloomberg reported on May 7, citing people familiar with the plans.

The people said North Korea’s nefarious cyber operations are alarming, as the stolen crypto has become a key funding source for the regime and its programs. 

North Korean-affiliated hacking groups such as the Lazarus Group have already stolen billions of dollars worth of crypto this year, including pulling off the $1.4 billion hack on Bybit in February, the largest ever for the crypto industry.

North Korean-linked hackers also stole more than $1.3 billion through 47 crypto heists during 2024, according to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. The US, Japan and South Korea warned in January that North Korea also deployed tech workers to infiltrate crypto companies as insider threats.

North Korea’s crypto-related hacking activity by year. Source: Chainalysis

North Korean “information technology (IT) workers also present an insider threat to private sector partners,” the statement read.

The illicit proceeds from these high-profile hacks have helped the hermit kingdom circumvent international sanctions and fund its weapons development programs, according to a US Treasury report in September.

Related: North Korean crypto attacks rising in sophistication, actors — Paradigm

In April, a group affiliated with Lazarus set up three shell companies, with two in the US, to deliver malware to unsuspecting users and scam crypto developers. 

Attempt to infiltrate crypto exchange

Earlier this month, crypto exchange Kraken detailed how it foiled an attempt by a North Korean hacker to infiltrate its organization.

Kraken’s chief security officer, Nick Percoco, conducted trap identity verification tests that the candidate failed, confirming the deception. 

Cyber threat intelligence expert at Telefónica and blockchain security researcher, Heiner Garcia, also uncovered how North Korean operatives secured freelance work online.

In February, Garcia invited Cointelegraph to take part in a dummy job interview he had set up with a suspected North Korean operative, who accidentally shared details that linked him to the nation’s crypto scams.

Magazine: Bitcoin to $1M ‘by 2029,’ CIA tips its hat to Bitcoin: Hodler’s Digest