Wall Street’s Newest Bitcoin Whale: Cantor-Backed Twenty One Capital Drops $458.7M on BTC Treasury Play
Move over, MicroStrategy—there’s a new institutional buyer swallowing Bitcoin whole. Twenty One Capital, backed by financial heavyweight Cantor Fitzgerald, just deployed nearly half a billion dollars into BTC for its treasury reserves.
Why it matters: This isn’t your cousin’s ’HODL’ mentality. When traditional finance players start treating Bitcoin like a balance sheet staple, it screams mainstream validation—or desperate yield-chasing in a zero-rate world.
The punchline: Another hedge fund playing ’follow the leader’ with corporate Bitcoin buys. At least they didn’t announce it via laser eyes on Twitter.
Twenty One Capital, the Bitcoin investment firm backed by financial giant Cantor Fitzgerald, stablecoin issuer Tether, and technology conglomerate Softbank, has announced its first major Bitcoin acquisition, purchasing 4,812 BTC worth $458.7 million.
The purchase, disclosed in a securities filing on Tuesday, was executed shortly after Twenty One Capital’s incorporation. According to the filing, the bitcoin was acquired as part of an agreement tied to the gross proceeds from subscription agreements related to a convertible notes offering by the publicly traded entity, which trades under the ticker CEP.
Very excited for what is to come!https://t.co/MkmL8f6Bjq
— Twenty One Capital (@XXI_CapitalBTC) May 12, 2025This initial Bitcoin allocation is referred to as "Initial PIPE Bitcoin" for the private investment in public equity (PIPE) transaction and was initially transferred to a wallet controlled by Tether. Upon the closing of the business combination, Tether will sell the Bitcoin to Twenty One Capital for the aforementioned $458.7 million.
Twenty One Capital was formed through a SPAC merger with Cantor Equity Partners and launched with a substantial $3.6 billion worth of Bitcoin already on its balance sheet, positioning it as the third-largest public holder of the cryptocurrency. The company is led by Jack Mallers, the founder of payment network Strike, and is majority-owned by Tether and its sister company, the crypto exchange Bitfinex, with SoftBank holding a minority stake.
Massive $3 Billion Bitcoin Fund Takes Shape with Cantor, SoftBank, TetherWhile the deal is anticipated to be announced in the coming weeks, sources cautioned that it could still fall through or see changes in the proposed figures.
As previously reported, Twenty One Capital’s strategy mirrors that of companies like MicroStrategy, focusing on Bitcoin as a primary treasury asset. This initial $458.7 million purchase signals the start of what the company has indicated will be ongoing Bitcoin acquisitions, with Tether saying the company plans to acquire "an infinite amount of Bitcoin" and Twenty One saying that "this is just the tip of the iceberg."
According to its website, Twenty One Capital currently holds 31,500 BTC.
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