Tether Bought $458.7M Worth of Bitcoin to Top Up Twenty One Capital's Holdings

Stablecoin issuer Tether bought $458.7 million worth of Bitcoin from Twenty One Capital, a Bitcoin investment firm it

Stablecoin issuer Tether bought $458.7 million worth of Bitcoin for Twenty One Capital, a Bitcoin investment firm it backed that’s awaiting the completion of a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) merger with Cantor Equity Partners.

Tether snapped up 4,812.2 Bitcoin (BTC) at $95,319 each and transferred it to an escrow wallet on May 9, Cantor Equity Partners disclosed in a May 13 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

It brings Twenty One’s total Bitcoin holdings to 36,312 BTC, as Cantor Equity Partners holds 31,500 BTC on behalf of the firm, which will trade under the ticker XXI once the SPAC merger is complete.

Twenty One’s CEO, Jack Mallers, said on May 13 that they’re already in the approval process of the merger, but didn’t give an exact estimate on when the transaction would be complete.

The company is also planning to apply for a new ticker symbol with the SEC.

Twenty One is already the third largest corporate Bitcoin holder, trailing only Strategy and Bitcoin mining firm MARA Holdings at 568,840 Bitcoin and 48,237 Bitcoin, respectively, BitcoinTreasuries.net data shows.

Tether is a majority stakeholder in Twenty One alongside crypto exchange Bitfinex. The Wall Street heavyweight Cantor Fitzgerald is sponsoring the merger, providing financial advisory services and securing $585 million in funding to support Twenty One’s Bitcoin investments.

Japanese investment holding firm SoftBank also invested $900 million into Twenty One, which is led by Strike CEO Jack Mallers.

Strategy may have a legitimate competitor

Twenty One said in an April presentation to the SEC that is looking to supplant Michael Saylor’s Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, to become the “superior vehicle” for investors seeking “capital-efficient Bitcoin exposure.”

The company is among many Bitcoin buying firms, but promises to be a “pure play” for investors seeking Bitcoin exposure with Bitcoin-native operations and more flexibility for strategic capital raises.

At the beginning of May, Eightfold, a company that provides technology for Web3, announced a partnership with Cantor Fitzgerald to develop a blockchain-based tokenized stock offering platform.

Twenty One said its key success metric will be Bitcoin per share and not the traditional earnings per share metric, as it will prioritize buying up Bitcoin over making a profit.

Related: Nakamoto Holdings merges with KindlyMD to build Bitcoin treasury

"The company will measure its success not in terms of traditional earnings per share, but rather in Bitcoin per share, reflecting its commitment to capitalizing on the potential of the cryptocurrency."

The company is aiming to reach 42,000 Bitcoin by the time it launches. Earlier filings showed that 23,950 Bitcoin is expected to come from Tether, 10,500 Bitcoin from Softbank and about 7,000 Bitcoin from Bitfinex, which will be converted into equity at $10 per share.

Cantor Equity Partners’ (CEP) share price soared from $10.65 to $59.73 on May 2 but has since fallen back to $29.84, Google Finance data shows. CEP rose another 5.2% in after-hours following the recent purchase.