Stablecoin Giant Tether Backs $459M Bitcoin Buy for Twenty One Capital

• Tether adds 4,812 BTC for Twenty One Capital’s SPAC plans.
• Firm eyes 42,000 BTC, challenging MicroStrategy’s dominance.
• Bitcoin per share becomes the firm’s new performance metric.

Stablecoin giant Tether has once again made headlines with a bold move to support Bitcoin adoption. On May 9, Tether purchased 4,812.2 Bitcoin worth approximately $458.7 million for Bitcoin investment firm Twenty One Capital, a strategic move ahead of the company’s planned SPAC merger with Cantor Equity Partners.

The Bitcoins were acquired at an average price of $95,319 and transferred to an escrow wallet, as disclosed in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing dated May 13. This brings Twenty One’s total Bitcoin holdings to 36,312 BTC, pushing it closer to some of the largest corporate Bitcoin holders globally.

Aiming to Surpass Strategy and MARA

Twenty One Capital now ranks as the third-largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, trailing only Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) with 568,840 BTC and MARA Holdings with 48,237 BTC. Once the SPAC merger is complete, Twenty One will trade publicly under the ticker symbol “XXI.”

The investment firm is backed by major players, including Tether, crypto exchange Bitfinex, and Japanese investment giant SoftBank, which has pumped $900 million into the company. Cantor Fitzgerald, a heavyweight on Wall Street, is sponsoring the merger and has committed $585 million in funding to fuel the company’s Bitcoin acquisition strategy.

Twenty One Capital’s CEO, Jack Mallers, also CEO of Strike, confirmed on May 13 that they are in the midst of the merger approval process but declined to give a specific timeline for its completion.

Bitcoin Per Share: A Radical Metric

What distinguishes Twenty One Capital is its distinctive approach. In an April SEC presentation, the company was explicit that it would forego profits in favor of accumulating Bitcoins, assessing its success on a per-share basis of Bitcoin instead of common metrics such as earnings per share (EPS).

According to filings, the firm aims to hold 42,000 BTC before launching as a public company. Of this, 23,950 BTC will come from Tether, 10,500 BTC from SoftBank, and approximately 7,000 BTC from Bitfinex to be converted into equity at $10 per share.

The move is being viewed as a direct challenge to Michael Saylor’s Strategy, with Twenty One branding itself as a “superior vehicle” for investors seeking pure Bitcoin exposure backed by native crypto operations and more flexibility in raising strategic capital.

Meanwhile, Cantor Equity Partners’ share price has shown volatility, rising from $10.65 to $59.73 on May 2 before dropping back to $29.84, with a recent 5.2% after-hours gain following the Bitcoin purchase announcement.

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