Tether, Bitfinex move $2.7B in Bitcoin for Twenty One Capital deal

• Tether and Bitfinex have transferred 25,812 Bitcoin, worth nearly $2.7 billion, to a new wallet, according to Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, who announced the move on Monday.

The transfer is a part of Tether and Bitfinex’s venture into Twenty One Capital, the new Bitcoin treasury company. Ardoino, who also serves as CTO of Bitfinex, explained on X (formerly Twitter) that the funds were sent as part of a “pre-funding” phase tied to the company’s launch and equity raise.

The Bitcoin was moved to a wallet linked to Twenty One Capital’s public treasury, signaling that both Tether and Bitfinex are endorsing the venture and committing substantial assets to back it.

The 25,812 BTC is now publicly seen on the blockchain explorers. Bitcoin was trading close to $105,000 at the time of the transfer. That puts the total value of the transaction at nearly $2.7 billion.

Twenty One Capital plans to stockpile Bitcoin

Twenty One Capital is run by Jack Mallers, who founded Strike and is the chief executive of Zap. Last month, he introduced the company, framing it as a daring gambit straddling Bitcoin and traditional capital markets.

It aims to amass one of the largest Bitcoin treasuries on the planet. Twenty One also plans to hold as much as 42,000 BTC, which would put it among the largest corporate Bitcoin holders in the world, Mallers said.

It is a strategy inspired by Saylors’s Strategy, which became a market leader by taking on corporate debt to buy Bitcoin. Mallers said that Twenty One Capital would indeed take a similar approach.

Including equity and convertible notes, the company has already raised $685 million. Tether, Bitfinex, and SoftBank are among the backers in this round.

Mallers added that the company will sell $100 million in new convertible notes. The proceeds from the sale will go toward buying even more Bitcoin. The company has pledged to provide wallet addresses for the Bitcoin it will buy because of this offering — once again, transparency reigns.

Twenty One Capital will go public by merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), Cantor Equity Partners (CEP). Upon the deal’s close, the combined company will trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol “XXI.”

The deal’s value is based on the average price of Bitcoin at $84,863.57 during the funding round, according to the announcement, and pegs Twenty One Capital at $3.6 billion.

CEP’s shares soared after the announcement. On Monday, it gained 7%, to $43, and reached a spike of $59.75 soon after. This is a testament to investor enthusiasm around the Bitcoin treasury model.

Twenty One Capital is making a name for itself as a serious Bitcoin-native company — with traditional financial muscle behind it. Backing the venture alongside Cantor Fitzgerald is Wall Street powerhouse SoftBank, which offers both tech and finance credibility.

Twenty One Capital shares wallets to boost confidence

Transparency is what sets Twenty One Capital apart. Jack Mallers shared a public Bitcoin wallet address containing 4,812 BTC as the company’s initial proof of reserves.

Additional wallet addresses will be published soon, he said— including those associated with Tether, Bitfinex, and one with Tether on behalf of SoftBank.

This shift toward public wallets is meant to instill more confidence in investors. In an area where many other people in Bitcoin have been criticized for lack of transparency, Mallers wants Twenty One Capital to be completely auditable as long as people can access the blockchain.

This style is more fashionable than it once was within the cryptosphere, given high-profile fiascos like FTX, as proof-of-reserves, once again, grew more popular.

By disclosing its wallets and reserve strategy to the public, Twenty One Capital attempts to demonstrate that companies holding Bitcoin treasuries can be transparent and answerable to the public trust.

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