Yorkville Acquisition Corp. has appointed two former Gryphon Digital Mining executives to lead its planned merger, which aims to create a publicly traded digital asset treasury focused on accumulating the Cronos ecosystem’s native token. These appointments signal Yorkville's strategic move toward forming a new entity with Trump Media & Technology Group and Crypto.com to acquire and manage the Cronos token (CRO) as its primary reserve asset.
Steve Gutterman is set to serve as CEO and Sim Salzman as chief financial officer once the merger is finalized, which Yorkville anticipates will occur in the first quarter of 2026. Both executives have prior experience leading Gryphon Digital Mining through restructuring, regulatory reporting, and capital-markets transactions. They have also held senior positions at prominent financial and digital asset firms, including E*TRADE, American Bitcoin, and Marathon Digital.
The newly formed entity, resulting from a business combination with Trump Media & Technology Group and Crypto.com, is structured to operate as a digital asset treasury. Its core mission will be to acquire and manage the CRO token, which is the native token of the Cronos blockchain, a network developed by Crypto.com.
The companies initially disclosed this strategic plan in September, announcing an initial purchase of 684.4 million CRO tokens at approximately $0.153 per token. This transaction, valued at nearly $105 million, was split evenly between stock and cash.
Following the merger's completion, the new company plans to operate a validator node on the Cronos network. This will enable the company to stake its CRO holdings, actively participate in network operations, and earn rewards that will support its long-term accumulation strategy for the token.
Crypto.com has established itself as a significant crypto partner for the Trump administration. In March, the company was among a select group of organizations invited to the White House Crypto Summit.
Shortly thereafter, Trump Media signed a non-binding agreement with Crypto.com to explore the potential launch of US exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that would focus on American-issued digital assets and securities.
Challenges Facing Digital Asset Treasuries
The year 2025 has witnessed the emergence of numerous digital asset treasuries, which are public companies established to hold and manage cryptocurrencies on their balance sheets. However, after initial strong performances, many of these entities are now facing pressure due to recent sell-offs in Bitcoin (BTC) and the broader cryptocurrency market.
MicroStrategy Inc. (MSTR), a company that pioneered the corporate Bitcoin-treasury trend in 2020, has seen its stock decline by approximately 36% over the past month. Similarly, Mara Holdings (MARA), a major Bitcoin miner and the second-largest corporate holder of BTC, has experienced a decrease of over 37% during the same period, according to data from Yahoo Finance.
Among companies focused on Ethereum treasuries, Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) has experienced a decline of over 37.8% in the past month. Sharplink Gaming (SBET) has also seen its stock price drop by approximately 30% during the same timeframe, according to Yahoo Finance data.
Although there is currently no dedicated CRO-treasury company, the Cronos token itself was trading down by approximately 8% at the time of writing and had fallen more than 30% over the past month.