Tether-backed Twenty One Capital purchases $458.7 million worth of bitcoin

Twenty One Capital, a bitcoin investment company backed by Cantor Fitzgerald, Tether, and Softbank, has purchased 4,812 BTC worth $458.7 million — the first of what is promised to be many buy bids. The company trades under the ticker CEP.

Stablecoin issuer Tether made the purchase shortly after Twenty One Capital was incorporated, according to a securities filing on Tuesday. The deal was part of an agreement to use the gross proceeds from subscription agreements tied to a convertible notes offering by the publicly traded entity.

The initial allocation — referred to as “Initial PIPE Bitcoin” for the private investment in public equity transaction — was transferred to a wallet controlled by Tether. Upon the closing of the business combination, Tether will sell the bitcoin to the public company for $458.7 million.

Twenty One Capital was created through a SPAC merger with Cantor Equity Partners. It launched with $3.6 billion in bitcoin on its balance sheet, making it the third-largest holder of bitcoin among publicly traded companies.

The firm is led by Jack Mallers , founder of Strike. It is majority-owned by Tether and its sister company, crypto exchange Bitfinex. SoftBank holds a minority stake.

The firm, led by Strike founder Jack Mallers , is among dozens of companies that have adopted a bitcoin-focused investment strategy, following in the footsteps of Michael Saylor’s playbook. Twenty One Capital is majority-owned by Tether and its sister company, crypto exchange Bitfinex, with SoftBank as a minority stakeholder.