(Reuters) -Cryptocurrency firm Bullish and Far Peak Acquisition Corp said on Thursday they had called off their $9 billion merger, making it the latest blank-check deal to fall through as the industry comes under increasing regulatory scrutiny.
The special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), which raised $550 million in its initial public offering and is led by former NYSE President Thomas Farley, will also wind down by March 7.
“Our quest to become a public company is taking longer than expected, but we respect the SEC’s ongoing work to lay new digital asset frameworks and clarify industry-specific disclosure and accounting complexities,” Bullish Chief Executive Officer Brendan Blumer said.
One of the hallmarks of pandemic-era dealmaking, SPACs have since fallen out of favor amid a regulatory crackdown and a sudden rise in interest rates that has rattled the equities market.
Backed by billionaire entrepreneur Peter Thiel, Bullish is a unit of the blockchain software company Block.one. The deal would have fetched it nearly $600 million in proceeds.
(Reporting by Anirban Chakroborti in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)