Cantor Fitzgerald Launches $3B Bitcoin Acquisition Vehicle Called 21 Capital

Cantor Fitzgerald is launching a new $3 billion Bitcoin acquisition vehicle called 21 Capital in partnership with Tether, SoftBank, and Bitfinex.

Cantor Fitzgerald is launching a $3 billion Bitcoin acquisition vehicle called 21 Capital in partnership with Tether, SoftBank, and Bitfinex, according to a Financial Times report.

The move aims to create a publicly traded alternative to MicroStrategy, which has become a Bitcoin powerhouse through its own treasury build.

The plan will see all partners pool resources, with Tether committing $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin to the venture. Japanese investment giant SoftBank will contribute $900 million, while Bitfinex will add $600 million to complete the $3 billion fund.

Brandon Lutnick, son of current US Commerce Secretary and Cantor Fitzgerald chairman Howard Lutnick, will lead 21 Capital. The venture will operate through Cantor Equity Partners, a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that raised $200 million in January 2025.

Partners will convert their Bitcoin investments into 21 Capital shares at $10 per share, valuing Bitcoin at around $85,000 per coin for the purpose of the deal. The venture will also raise an extra $350 million through a convertible bond offering.

Structure and Goals of 21 Capital

21 Capital aims to provide investors with a publicly listed vehicle that tracks Bitcoin’s performance through direct holdings, similar to how MicroStrategy has used debt and equity to build its Bitcoin treasury.

MicroStrategy has become a Bitcoin powerhouse, having acquired over 530,000 BTC worth $36.4 billion. However, its share price has since dropped 20% from record highs reached in November.

Syncracy Capital co-founder Ryan Watkins described Cantor’s new venture as an attempt to mirror MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin accumulation blueprint.

“So another MicroStrategy clone, by Cantor, SoftBank, and Tether, with $550M of dry powder to start,” said Watkins. “One is an outlier, two is a trend. Dozens starts to look like bubble behavior.”

The new venture also looks to capitalize on what backers see as a renewed crypto bull market under the Trump administration. The timing aligns with the administration’s more open stance toward cryptocurrency trading.

Cantor’s Expanding Presence in Crypto

Cantor Fitzgerald has been expanding its presence in the cryptocurrency sector. In November 2024, the company announced plans for a $2 billion Bitcoin lending program in partnership with Tether.

By March 2025, Cantor revealed it would be utilizing crypto platforms maintained by Anchorage Digital and Copper. The firm also manages Tether’s reserves, with the stablecoin issuer previously expressing interest in investing in Cantor’s Bitcoin financing business.

These moves come after President Trump appointed Howard Lutnick as Commerce Secretary in November. Lutnick, who worked at Cantor for over four decades, is known to be favorable toward cryptocurrencies.

Some argue that Cantor’s Bitcoin acquisition plan aligns with Trump’s decision to launch a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Trump’s executive order requires Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to acquire Bitcoin in budget-neutral ways.

The deal, expected to be announced in the coming weeks, follows Bitcoin’s recent rise to a two-week high of $93,000. The cryptocurrency had peaked at around $106,000 earlier this year following Trump’s election victory, before falling to $79,000 and then recovering.

While the launch appears imminent, the Financial Times report notes that the deal may not materialize, and the figures are still subject to change.