NBA Player Kevin Durant Eyes Crypto Acquisition With SPAC Launch

By Andrew Hayward

As an early investor in Coinbase, NBA superstar Kevin Durant likely profited handsomely when the cryptocurrency exchange went public earlier this year. However, he might not be done making moves into the space, as his investment firm just launched a SPAC that is looking into the crypto industry for a potential merger or acquisition.

Today, the SEC published a filing for a new SPAC named Infinite Acquisition Corp. for a public offering for up to $200 million. Infinite is a collaboration between Thirty Five Ventures—Durant’s investment firm with business partner Rich Kleiman—and investment and banking firm LionTree.

A SPAC, or special purpose acquisition company, is a company created with the sole purpose of merging with or acquiring a private company and taking it public. SPACs are often called “blank check” companies, and their aim is solely to merge with a private firm (such as a startup) and help that company circumvent a standard initial public offering (IPO).

Infinite’s SEC filing suggests a broad scope of potential targets for types of companies to acquire, including those in the sports, health and wellness, e-commerce, and food technology and supply industries.

However, it also highlights cryptocurrency and digital assets firms as a possible pick. In a brief overview of the crypto market, the filing highlights exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken, lending and interest savings services like BlockFi, hardware wallet maker Ledger, and successful NFT-related firms/projects like the Ethereum-based game Axie Infinity and Dapper Labs (makers of NBA Top Shot).

“These technologies make the internet ownable, providing new ways to reward and compensate creators for their work allowing unbound creativity,” it reads, “and driving toward the emergence of potentially massive new platforms to harness this democratization of scarcity.”

Infinite seeks to list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with the ticker NFNT.U and offer 20 million units at $10 apiece. Credit Suisse will underwrite the offering, and Infinite promises to buy back all shares with cash if the SPAC does not complete a merger or acquisition within 18 months of the offering’s close.

Durant’s original investment amount in Coinbase from 2017 is unknown, but it was part of a round that valued the company at $1.6 billion. Coinbase’s total market cap today, following this spring’s public offering, is now $71 billion. Durant has also invested in fintech wallet app Eco, and just today was announced as an investor of Valora, an app that lets users send cryptocurrency payments via text message.

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