Avalanche Treasury Co. strikes $675 million merger deal to form AVAX DAT

Avalanche Treasury Co. (AVAT) announced a definitive business combination agreement with Mountain Lake Acquisition Corp. late Wednesday — valued at more than $675 million — marking one of the largest crypto-aligned Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) transactions to date.

The deal includes approximately $460 million in projected treasury assets at closing, an exclusive $200 million discounted AVAX purchase allocation with the Avalanche Foundation, plus equity considerations. The firm also secured an 18-month priority window on Avalanche Foundation sales to U.S. digital asset treasury companies going forward.

The transaction has attracted backing from a mix of traditional and crypto-native investors, including Dragonfly, ParaFi Capital, VanEck, Galaxy Digital, Pantera Capital, CoinFund, and Kraken. FalconX will provide trading and credit services, while Monarq will manage portions of the treasury portfolio. PJT Partners and Barclays are advising AVAT, with Skadden and Davis Polk providing legal counsel.

The combined company, expected to trade on Nasdaq in early 2026 pending regulatory and shareholder approval, has the ambitious target of acquiring more than $1 billion worth of AVAX over time, aiming to position itself as a leading public vehicle for institutional exposure to the cryptocurrency. Capital will also be deployed into protocol investments, enterprise partnerships, and validator infrastructure.

AVAT plans to launch at a 0.77x mNAV entry point, offering investors a 23% discount relative to buying AVAX directly or through exchange-traded fund-style alternatives.

"Many institutions have difficulty accessing digital assets or are limited to holding native tokens without yield or ecosystem integration. We created Avalanche Treasury Co. to offer something we believe will be more valuable than passive exposure," AVAT CEO Bart Smith said in a statement. "This is a public company launching as an active, strategic partner within the Avalanche network, offering a level of integration and alignment that investors have been demanding."

Ties to Avalanche's core team

AVAT's leadership draws from both Wall Street and crypto, with Susquehanna International Group and AllianceBernstein veteran Smith joined by COO Laine Litman, formerly of HiddenRoad and Virtu Financial, and CSO Budd White, a product executive from Multisig Labs.

Upon closing, AVAT's advisory and company boards will also include a mix of traditional finance veterans and crypto-native leaders. Ava Labs founder Emin Gün Sirer will join as a strategic advisor, while Chief Business Officer John Nahas will take a seat on the public company board, giving AVAT direct ties to Avalanche's core team.

"We are very pleased to welcome AVAT to the Avalanche ecosystem," Emin Gün Sirer said. "I'm honored to support them as an advisor. Their participation reflects the growing sophistication and momentum shaping Avalanche's future."

Additional advisors include Aave founder Stani Kulechov and Dragonfly Capital Managing Partner Haseeb Qureshi, while the board will also feature MLAC CEO Paul Grinberg and Dragonfly General Partner Rob Hadick.

Avalanche Treasury Co. joins a growing list of digital asset treasury initiatives, including the Anthony Scaramucci-backed fellow AVAX DAT, AgriFORCE Growing Systems.