Bitcoin Lightning Architect Jack Mallers Doubles Down on Strike—While Taking the Reins at VC Firm Twenty-One Capital

Bitcoin’s favorite payments disruptor just added a CEO title to his resume. Jack Mallers—the 26-year-old behind Strike’s global Lightning Network adoption—is now steering venture fund Twenty-One Capital... without dropping his day job revolutionizing money transfers.

Why it matters: This isn’t some cushy advisory role. Mallers is going operational at the investment firm while maintaining ’full commitment’ to Strike. Cue Wall Street eye-rolls about ’part-time CEOs’—but in crypto, multitasking is a feature, not a bug.

The punchline: When traditional finance types complain about divided attention spans, remind them most banks still take 3 business days to settle a wire. Lightning moves at, well... lightning speed.

Mallers emphasizes Bitcoin-centric philosophy in a strategic shift to Twenty-One Capital

Mallers had previously stated that he was a big supporter of Bitcoin. He claimed that if BTC won, humanity would win. In addition, before he made any business decisions, he said the first thing he asked himself was: Is this good for Bitcoin?

Therefore, based on his argument following his announcement as CEO of Twenty-One Capital, the firm existed because it benefited Bitcoin and, hence, was good for the world.

Mallers’ appointment at the company signifies a strategic alignment between the two entities focused on advancing Bitcoin adoption. According to Mallers, Twenty-One Capital was created to serve Bitcoin’s interests and to contribute positively to the world.

Mallers differentiated Strike, a Bitcoin payments platform, from Twenty-One Capital and said the two companies had different purposes. Strike, he continued, focused on putting Bitcoin everywhere, and Twenty-One sought to increase Bitcoin ownership per share (BPS) and develop Bitcoin-native financial tools.

Still, Mallers realized that the companies embraced a similar philosophy despite their various distinctions. He now emphasizes this philosophy: “If Bitcoin wins, we win.”

Moreover, for the first time, Mallers disclosed Strike’s key performance indicators to the public. The company reported over $6 billion in revenue in 2024, 600% year-over-year growth, an 85% gross profit margin, and no expenses for acquiring new customers.

Mallers takes the helm at Twenty-One Capital to drive Bitcoin-centric ventures

The announcement that Jack Mallers will be the new Twenty-One Capital, Inc. CEO comes after the new company revealed a business venture involving Cantor Equity Partners, a special-purpose acquisition company by a Cantor Fitzgerald affiliate.

Backed by stablecoin issuer Tether and Japanese investment powerhouse SoftBank Group, Twenty One will launch with more than 42,000 Bitcoins under management. The company aims to maximize BTC ownership per share for its investors and will explore opportunities in BTC-native financial products.

Twenty-One Capital is expected to offer investors a centralized platform for Bitcoin exposure, champion Bitcoin advocacy, and provide media and content focused on BTC. The firm also plans to explore future growth opportunities, including developing financial products native to Bitcoin.

Furthermore, the company aims to overtake Michael Saylor’s Strategy as the primary option for investors looking to expose themselves to Bitcoin in a capital-efficient manner.

Mallers’ new position causes controversy among cryptocurrency investors

On social media, several cryptocurrency enthusiasts had inquired about Mallers’ logistics as the CEO of Strike and Twenty-One Capital.

In an April 25 X post, cryptocurrency commentator Alex asked, “What will happen to Strike? New incoming CEO? Or will he pull an Elon Musk?” Similarly, Domingo Guerra also questioned, “Who will be running Strike!?”

In the meantime, many people involved in cryptocurrency have openly anticipated that Twenty-One Capital might eventually acquire Strike. To an extent, Cory Klippsten, CEO of Swan Bitcoin, speculated that it was probably SAFE to assume that Twenty-One Capital would acquire Strike.

“How long before Twenty-One Capital acquires Strike?” asked Daniel Sempere Pico. Still, neither Mallers nor Strike has expressed any intention of pursuing such a move.

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