Elevating a Cryptocurrency Company’s Finance Function by Completing a $372M De-SPAC

The Challenge

A Bitcoin rewards financial services and technology company began its IPO process via a de-SPAC in Summer 2024 with an aggressive less-than-12-month deadline to achieve effectiveness of their S-4. For the CFO, Controller, and Board, the challenge was twofold: execute a complex capital markets transaction while simultaneously elevating the finance function to public-company standards, without compromising focus on operational performance leading up to the IPO. The company needed comprehensive technical accounting expertise to uplift into a publicly traded entity while meeting contractual deadlines.

Operating in the highly regulated digital asset sector, the company faced heightened SEC scrutiny around financial reporting and disclosure. Additionally, the company had never undergone an audit. While the company’s finance team had strong capabilities in a private-company environment, the team had not experienced the rigor, documentation standards, internal control scrutiny, and multi-period reviews required for a public-company audit. The company engaged Riveron to navigate the private-to-public journey and address complex accounting and reporting challenges, including:

• Stock-based compensation
• Revenue recognition
• Capitalized software costs
• Earnings per share (EPS) calculations
• Tax provision preparation
• Financial statement drafting
• Historical accounting clean-up dating back several years

During active filings, the company also signed complex debt agreements that required immediate technical accounting analysis to meet S-4 deadlines, and evolving SEC guidance related to crypto reporting introduced additional regulatory considerations mid-process.

How We Helped

Drawing on extensive de-SPAC and IPO execution experience, Riveron embedded alongside the Office of the CFO to lead the most technical and time-sensitive aspects of the transaction. Our approach focused on both executing a complex capital markets event and strengthening the finance organization for sustainable public-company performance.

Executing a Complex Capital Markets Transaction

Guiding the company through the time-sensitive de-SPAC process and evolving SEC expectations related to digital asset reporting, our team:

• Prepared SEC-compliant annual and quarterly financial statements for inclusion in the S-4
• Developed highly complex pro-forma financial statements for the S-4 filing
• Navigated audits and reviews across seven annual and interim reporting periods (and counting)
• Provided valuations of complex debt and equity agreements
• Delivered rapid-turnaround technical accounting memos for newly issued debt instruments during active filings

To help the company tackle the complexities, Riveron also served as project manager between management, external auditors, and regulators. By maintaining a detailed project plan for alignment across stakeholders, adherence to filing deadlines, and avoid costly regulatory missteps with sound reporting frameworks the team maximized exit effectiveness.

Strengthening the Office of the CFO

Beyond transaction execution, Riveron elevated the organization’s finance infrastructure to meet public-company standards. Efforts included:

• Guiding the company through its first-ever public-company audit
• Implementing DFIN to modernize and automate financial reporting
• Preparing tax provision and supporting income tax accounting
• Establishing foundational processes to support SOX compliance and ongoing SEC reporting

To ensure the company’s internal teams were not overburdened, our scalable team model allowed resources to flex around critical deadlines and scale back during slower periods—providing efficient, cost-aligned support. By absorbing the most complex accounting and reporting demands, Riveron enabled leadership to stay focused on strategic priorities and business growth.

The Results

By partnering with Riveron, the crypto-sector company successfully completed $372M de-SPAC ahead of contractual deadline. The less-than-12-month engagement resulted in several lasting impacts, including:

• Transformed an audit-ready finance function, fully preparing the company despite never having been audited previously
• Elevated the finance organization to operate within the heightened rigor of public-company standards
• Established a scalable foundation for ongoing SEC compliance and SOX readiness

To support ongoing success beyond the initial engagement, Riveron’s continued partnership reinforces the organization’s ability to operate confidently in the highly regulated digital asset environment and strengthen the finance function by providing post-transaction support for quarterly filings and public-company reporting.