thedefiant.io
Avalanche Treasury Co. (AVAT) – a company formed to provide institutional investors with exposure to the Avalanche network – announced it will merge with Mountain Lake Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: MLAC) in a transaction valued at more than $675 million.
The deal includes roughly $460 million in assets and is expected to close in early 2026, pending regulatory and shareholder approval, according to a press release. As part of the agreement, AVAT will purchase $200 million worth of Avalanche ($AVAX) tokens at a discount through an arrangement with the Avalanche Foundation.
$AVAX is currently trading at $31.10, up 1.2% on the day after retracing slightly from $31.31. Meanwhile, MLAC is trading at $10.45, up 2% in the past 24 hours.
The treasury company said the move aims to give investors a cheaper entry into $AVAX compared to buying the tokens directly or through exchange-traded funds (ETFs). It also reflects a broader trend of companies incorporating crypto into their holdings as treasury assets.
"This team and advisory group have the institutional credibility and crypto-native expertise to execute at scale," said Paul Grinberg, Chairman & CEO of Mountain Lake. "Avalanche's architecture addresses real enterprise needs in ways other protocols simply don't. What attracted us to this transaction is AVAT's operational mandate and building a treasury that actively drives token utility and adoption, not just buying and holding."
The deal comes as the Avalanche ecosystem has been gaining traction – in August, the network recorded its highest decentralized exchange (DEX) volumes since 2022, The Defiant reported. It processed $12 billion that month and surpassed $9 billion in September.
Total value locked (TVL) on Avalanche has also more than doubled this year, climbing from $1.3 billion in January to $2.3 billion at the time of writing. $AVAX has also surged more than 100% from its April low of $16 to its current level. Much of this momentum has been driven by expectations that digital asset treasuries (DAT) will buy $AVAX.
After the merger, the company hopes to accumulate more than $1 billion worth of $AVAX. It plans to use the capital to support projects on the Avalanche network, work with businesses developing blockchain applications, and help new blockchains launch with validator support and liquidity.