Crypto exchange Coincheck's Nasdaq listing could be delayed again

Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck's plans to list on Nasdaq via a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Thunder Bridge Capital Partners IV faces a possible further delay.

The Thunder Bridge board believes there will not sufficient time to complete the merger by the July 2 deadline, according to a preliminary proxy statement dated May 16. It suggested extending the deadline by up to 12 months, subject to a vote by stockholders.

Coincheck's merger with Thunder Bridge was first announced in March 2022 and was initially expected to be completed in the second half of the year. However, in October, Coincheck said the deadline had been pushed to July 2, 2023.

Mergers with SPACs became a prominent means of firms going public in recent years, however several such slated deals have been hit by delays or cancellations in the last year.

Trading platform eToro, for example, had proposed a merger with FinTech Acquisition Corp. V in March 2021, which was valued at $10.4 billion at the time. However, the deal was terminated last July after the two firms could not agree on closing conditions.