Bitcoin Shop, Inc. (BTCS), the first publicly traded Bitcoin company in the U.S., has announced that its management will voluntarily cancel all outstanding options of the company.
According to Charles Allen, CEO of BTCS, the move will facilitate a new equity plan that will be realized after the merger with the Israeli-based mining hardware manufacturer, Spondoolies-Tech.
The process to merge the two blockchain technology companies began in April when BTCs signed a letter of intent. When the merger is actualized, they hope the new entity will become a major player in the transaction verification and mining services.
Building a digital currency ecosystem
As part of the strategy to reach this goal, BTCS has been developing extensive mining facilities in North Carolina.
In a July 7 press release, BTCS said that the 12,450,000 cancelled options represent all the outstanding options written by the company. Besides the statement of voluntary cancellation, they make no mention of compensation. Allen said:
"As we continue to progress in our planned merger with Spondoolies, we see the cancellation of our outstanding options as a strategic move that will afford us the opportunity to create a comprehensive plan post-merger that properly addresses all stakeholders involved.”
One more partnership
Merging with Spondoolies will not be the first time Bitcoin Shop is making a business arrangement with other companies in the digital currency space. Since its inception, the company has embarked on building a comprehensive blockchain and digital currency ecosystem.
With this goal, it has partnered with and invested in several other companies. The list includes GoCoin (a payment processor that accommodates bitcoin and other popular altcoins), Gem (an API for building blockchain apps), Expresscoin (a digital exchange) and CoinOutlet (a Bitcoin ATM network company).
Michal Handerhan, BTCS’ Chief Operating Officer:
“We believe that one of the keys to success of our business is all stakeholders' motivation and that we have a balanced and fair equity incentive plan. With this goal in mind Charles and I agreed that it was in the best interest of the combined company to cancel our outstanding options such that we can work together with the Spondoloolies team in a collaborative way to establish the new goals and incentives of the company going forward."
- Michal Handerhan