Twenty One Capital Emerges as World’s Third-Largest Corporate Bitcoin Holder
Tether and Bitfinex have collectively transferred a staggering $3.9 billion worth of Bitcoin to Twenty One Capital, the new Bitcoin-native financial platform led by Strike CEO Jack Mallers. With this move, Twenty One Capital has rapidly become the third-largest corporate Bitcoin holder globally, following closely behind Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) and mining firm MARA Holdings.
Massive Bitcoin Transfers Unveiled
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino revealed the transactions through a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), detailing several large transfers across two days. On 3 June, Ardoino disclosed two specific movements: one of 10,500 BTC (approximately $1.1 billion) linked to SoftBank’s pre-funding for its investment in Twenty One, and another of 917 BTC (worth around $96 million) sent to a wallet associated with convertible equity investors.
These announcements followed an even larger transfer the day before, with a total of 25,812 BTC, then valued at $2.7 billion, moving in three separate transactions. This included 7,000 BTC from Bitfinex as part of its strategic investment, 14,000 BTC from Tether, and 4,812 BTC earmarked for initial equity raise pre-funding.
SoftBank and Other Strategic Backers Involved
The inclusion of major players such as SoftBank underscores the ambitious scale of the project. The 10,500 BTC transfer aligned with SoftBank’s initial funding commitment, suggesting confidence in the future of Bitcoin-native financial infrastructure.
The smaller transfer of 917 BTC supports the convertible equity structure being used to attract early-stage backers. Ardoino’s posts indicate a well-orchestrated capital deployment strategy underpinning Twenty One’s early growth.
What is Twenty One Capital?
Twenty One Capital is aiming to build a robust financial infrastructure natively on the Bitcoin network. The platform envisions offering services like custody, lending, and asset issuance, all directly on Bitcoin rails. It intends to go public via a SPAC merger with Cantor Fitzgerald’s Cantor Equity Partners, with a current valuation of $3.6 billion.
This positioning aligns Twenty One Capital with other heavyweights in the space, leveraging Bitcoin’s security and decentralisation for traditional financial use cases.
Rising Transparency Divide in Crypto Industry
While Twenty One Capital’s activities have been largely transparent and traceable via blockchain analytics, other major players in the space continue to resist similar openness. At the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas, Strategy’s executive chairman Michael Saylor reiterated his stance against onchain proof-of-reserves, labelling it a “bad idea” due to the potential security risks it poses to all stakeholders.
Despite this, blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence claims to have identified 87% of Strategy’s Bitcoin holdings onchain as of 29 May, highlighting the limits of privacy in an increasingly data-driven industry.
Conclusion
With backing from giants like SoftBank and strategic moves from Tether and Bitfinex, Twenty One Capital is positioning itself at the forefront of Bitcoin-based financial innovation. Its rapid accumulation of Bitcoin holdings and ambitious infrastructure plans mark a significant step in the evolution of crypto-native institutions.
