Tether Deepens Bitcoin Bet with $459M Buy for Twenty One Capital

Tether Deepens Bitcoin Bet with $459M Buy for Twenty One Capital

Tether Adds 4,812 Bitcoin in Strategic Power Move Before SPAC Merger

In a strategic acquisition worth $458.7 million, Tether has purchased 4,812.2 Bitcoin on behalf of Twenty One Capital, further expanding the crypto investment firm’s already substantial Bitcoin holdings. The purchase was revealed in a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on May 13.

The transaction, which valued each Bitcoin at $95,319, marks a major milestone for Twenty One Capital, a company backed by Tether and awaiting completion of a merger with Cantor Equity Partners, a Wall Street-aligned Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC). Once finalized, Twenty One will be publicly traded under the ticker XXI.

Third-Largest Corporate Bitcoin Holder

Following the purchase, Twenty One Capital’s Bitcoin treasury now totals 36,312 BTC. Of that amount, 31,500 BTC is currently held by Cantor Equity Partners in escrow. This places Twenty One as the third-largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, trailing only behind:

• Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy): 568,840 BTC

• MARA Holdings (a Bitcoin mining firm): 48,237 BTC
  (Source: BitcoinTreasuries.net)

The bold accumulation signals Twenty One’s ambition to rival—and eventually surpass—Strategy as the premier vehicle for institutional Bitcoin exposure.

Strategic Investors Backing the Move

Tether, already the majority stakeholder in Twenty One, was joined in the investment by Bitfinex and SoftBank, the Japanese investment giant. SoftBank’s backing came with a hefty $900 million investment. Additionally, Cantor Fitzgerald, a legacy financial powerhouse, is sponsoring the SPAC and securing $585 million in funding for Twenty One’s Bitcoin ventures.

Jack Mallers, CEO of Twenty One and also CEO of Strike, confirmed the SPAC merger is currently in the regulatory approval phase. However, he did not provide a definitive timeline for completion.

Bitcoin-First Financial Strategy

In filings and investor presentations to the SEC, Twenty One emphasized its mission to become the most “capital-efficient Bitcoin exposure” vehicle. Unlike traditional corporations, Twenty One will not measure success by Earnings Per Share (EPS) but by Bitcoin Per Share, underscoring its Bitcoin-native approach.

“We’re not trying to beat MicroStrategy at their game — we’re changing the rules entirely,” Mallers stated during a recent investor call.

Earlier filings reveal that Twenty One is targeting 42,000 BTC by the time of its launch, with allocations expected to come from:

• Tether: 23,950 BTC

• SoftBank: 10,500 BTC

• Bitfinex: ~7,000 BTC (to be converted into equity at $10 per share)

Cantor’s Stock Reacts to Bitcoin Buy

Following news of the Bitcoin acquisition, Cantor Equity Partners’ (CEP) stock surged by 5.2% in after-hours trading, having earlier climbed from $10.65 to $59.73 on May 2, before stabilizing at $29.84, per Google Finance data.