Athena Bitcoin Clears Way For Early Investors to Sell Shares

Athena Bitcoin International, a U.S.-based crypto ATM operator with a give attention to Latin America, has filed to register a whole lot of hundreds of thousands of shares for resale by former traders, marking a possible exit tied to earlier debt financing.

The S-1 submitting appeared on the SEC archives Tuesday, detailing how Athena would register 473 million widespread shares for resale by greater than two dozen shareholders, together with early backers, firm insiders, and former staff.

Lots of its shares have been issued following the conversion of a secured convertible debenture, a kind of debt instrument that may be transformed into fairness at a later date.

Athena stated the registration would enhance its profile “as a number one firm within the worldwide operation of Bitcoin ATMs” and doubtlessly “make it simpler to draw extra fairness capital,” which it must fund its growth.

The operator didn’t instantly reply to Decrypt’s request for remark.

The transfer allows traders to exit their place by promoting shares they acquired by a previous debt settlement. Whereas it could present liquidity, it could additionally impression shareholder worth.

Athena gained prominence in 2021 when it turned the primary operator to deploy Bitcoin ATMs in El Salvador.



Its inventory trades underneath the ticker ABIT on the OTC Pink Market, the bottom tier of U.S. public markets, identified for minimal disclosure necessities, restricted liquidity, and heightened funding danger.

Regardless of prior plans, Athena stated it has not but utilized for an uplisting to OTCQB or OTCQX, which impose stricter disclosure necessities, per the submitting.

Whereas convertible debenture conversions are normal in distressed or early-stage financing, they might introduce promoting strain, particularly in thinly traded securities like Athena’s.

Up to now, its each day quantity has fluctuated wildly from as little as $160 to $112,280, with a 65-day common of $10,367, in response to information from Yahoo Finance.  Regardless of the volatility, its inventory has persistently traded beneath $0.10, closing at $0.0394 on Tuesday.

Broader headwinds and El Salvador pullbacks

In its submitting, the corporate acknowledged broader headwinds stemming from crypto market turmoil, citing the collapse of platforms similar to FTX, Celsius, and Voyager as oblique elements impacting transaction volumes. 

FTX, Celsius, and Voyager have been severely impacted through the earlier crypto bear market, which occurred greater than two years in the past.

Though Athena stated it suffered no “materials direct impression,” it famous that these bankruptcies led to declines in crypto costs, buying and selling quantity, and consumer sentiment.

The mixture of those drivers “might have been a contributing issue” to the decreased quantity that it skilled after the bankruptcies.

Athena gained worldwide consideration for deploying Bitcoin ATMs throughout El Salvador’s rollout of BTC as authorized tender, although El Salvador’s broader crypto technique has confronted worldwide scrutiny, with fiscal reforms geared toward easing strain from the IMF regardless of President Bukele’s continued defiance.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair