Avalanche Launches $675M Treasury Co. With Goal of $1B+ AVAX Holdings

Avalanche Treasury Co. (AVAT) has been unveiled with the aim of building an ecosystem treasury exceeding $1 billion. The company will merge with Mountain Lake Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: MLAC) in a deal valued at more than $675 million.

The new entity, expected to list on Nasdaq in early 2026 under the ticker symbol AVAT, will serve as a public vehicle for institutional exposure to Avalanche’s native token, AVAX.

What is Avalanche Treasury Co.?

Avalanche Treasury Co. (AVAT) is an ecosystem-aligned digital asset treasury company that maintains an exclusive relationship with the Avalanche Foundation. The firm intends to manage, grow, and deploy AVAX holdings beyond simple accumulation. Its launch marks one of the most significant institutional treasury initiatives in the Avalanche ecosystem.

Key features of AVAT include:

• An exclusive $200 million discounted AVAX purchase allocation from the Avalanche Foundation.
• An 18-month priority window on AVAX sales to U.S. digital asset treasury companies.
• A listing plan on Nasdaq in Q1 2026, pending regulatory and shareholder approvals.

Deal Structure and Financials

The merger between Avalanche Treasury Co. and MLAC values the combined business at over $675 million. This includes around $460 million in treasury assets at closing. AVAT will begin with an initial discounted AVAX token purchase, providing investors entry at a 0.77x multiple of net asset value (mNAV), which is a 23% discount compared to purchasing AVAX directly or through ETF-style products.

• Transaction Value: $675M+
• Initial Treasury Assets: ~$460M
• Exclusive AVAX Allocation: $200M
• Investor Entry Point: 0.77x mNAV (23% discount)

AVAT aims to grow its holdings to more than $1 billion in AVAX over time, making it a foundational partner in Avalanche’s ecosystem.

Why AVAT Matters

Many institutions face challenges when entering digital assets, including limited access, regulatory uncertainty, and the inability to integrate tokens with ecosystem-level activity. AVAT is designed to address these issues by:

• Offering exposure to AVAX at discounted valuations.
• Creating a structured, publicly traded treasury vehicle.
• Aligning capital deployment with Avalanche’s long-term growth.

Instead of passively holding tokens, AVAT intends to integrate capital with ecosystem growth strategies.

AVAT is led by executives with backgrounds in both Wall Street and crypto-native ventures:

• Bart Smith (CEO): Former Susquehanna International Group and AllianceBernstein executive.
• Laine Litman (COO): Former President of HiddenRoad, Head of FI & FX, and Co-Head of Crypto at Virtu Financial.
• Budd White (CSO): Former Chief Product Officer at Multisig Labs.

AVAT’s formation has attracted participation from a wide set of investors, both traditional and crypto-native:

• Institutional Firms: VanEck, ParaFi Capital, Galaxy Digital, Pantera Capital.
• Crypto-Native Participants: Dragonfly, CoinFund, Kraken, Borderless.
• Strategic Service Providers: FalconX (execution and credit services), Monarq (asset management).

Capital Deployment Strategy

AVAT’s approach moves beyond passive accumulation. Instead, it focuses on deploying capital strategically across three pillars:

Protocol Investments

AVAT will make targeted investments into Avalanche-based protocols to drive adoption and transaction flow.

Enterprise Partnerships

The company aims to support enterprises building on-chain rails for real-world assets (RWAs), stablecoins, and payment systems.

Validator Infrastructure

By running validator nodes and providing liquidity, AVAT intends to support new institutional L1 launches on Avalanche.

The AVAT launch comes as the digital asset industry anticipates greater regulatory clarity in the U.S. Institutional adoption is expected to accelerate once regulatory frameworks stabilize. AVAT’s structure as a public company provides a compliant pathway for institutions to gain AVAX exposure.

Timeline and Next Steps

The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2026, pending regulatory and shareholder approval. Once listed on Nasdaq, AVAT will:

• Deploy capital into Avalanche-based projects.
• Build validator infrastructure.
• Scale treasury assets toward the $1 billion target.

AVAT maintains a direct connection to Avalanche’s development ecosystem:

• Ava Labs founder Emin Gün Sirer joins as an advisor.
• Avalanche CBO John Nahas joins the board.

These ties ensure that AVAT remains closely aligned with Avalanche’s strategic direction, strengthening its role as an ecosystem treasury company.

Conclusion

Avalanche Treasury Co. represents a new approach to digital asset treasuries by combining discounted AVAX access with strategic ecosystem investment. Unlike passive ETF-style products, AVAT will actively deploy capital into Avalanche projects, enterprises, and validator infrastructure. Backed by a mix of Wall Street veterans, crypto-native leaders, and institutional investors, AVAT is intended as a key public vehicle for institutional AVAX exposure.

Resources:

1. Press release: Avalanche Treasury Co. Announces $675 Million+ Business Combination with Mountain Lake Acquisition Corp. with Goal to Build $1 Billion+ Ecosystem Treasury:
2. Avalanche blockchain aims to raise $1bn for crypto-hoarding companies - report by Financial Times:
3. Avalanche Treasury Co. strikes $675 million merger deal to form AVAX DAT - report by The Block:
4. Avalanche Treasury Co. X platform: