Tether International has acquired SoftBank's entire stake in Twenty One Capital (NYSE: XXI). As a result, Tether secures sole control over the listed Bitcoin treasury company. In addition, the Japanese holding company is leaving the Board of Directors in accordance with the existing shareholder agreement.
Neither side disclosed the purchase price. However, the XXI share reacted positively. In pre-market trading, the price rose by 5.6% to 8.05 USD. This values Twenty One Capital at roughly 2.64 billion USD, based on a free float of 127.95 million shares. Moreover, the company currently holds 43,514 BTC worth approximately 3.35 billion USD. Therefore, it ranks second among listed Bitcoin holders behind Strategy.
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Tether becomes sole decision-maker at Twenty One Capital
With SoftBank's exit, the last minority shareholder from the founding phase with its own board representation is gone. As a result, Tether now stands unquestionably as the sole strategic decision-maker. At the company's founding in April 2025, SoftBank had contributed a significant minority stake of around 25%. This equated to roughly 10,500 BTC. In addition, Tether and Bitfinex together contributed around 31,500 BTC to the founding balance sheet.
No official reason for the exit emerged. However, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino acknowledged the Japanese firm's contribution to the build-up phase. Furthermore, he highlighted the institutional depth that SoftBank had brought to the Bitcoin-native company in its early days. A loss of confidence in the Bitcoin strategy appears less plausible as a motive than an internal realignment at SoftBank.
Consolidation ahead of planned three-way merger
The timing of the acquisition fits into a broader consolidation pattern. On 29 April 2026, Tether Investments had already announced a merger proposal. This proposal would combine Twenty One Capital with two other holdings. Specifically, Tether plans a merger with Strike, the Bitcoin payments platform run by XXI CEO Jack Mallers. In addition, the Bitcoin miner Elektron Energy will join the new structure. As a result, without SoftBank on the board, such structural changes become easier to implement.
Since its NYSE debut on 9 December 2025, the XXI share has lost around 84% of its value. Moreover, the loss per share over the past twelve months stands at 4.42 USD. Nevertheless, investors view full Tether control as a positive signal. This reaction points to fatigue with the previous multi-party governance.
From SPAC listing to Bitcoin treasury strategy
Tether, Bitfinex, SoftBank and Cantor Fitzgerald announced Twenty One Capital on 23 April 2025. The company positioned itself as the first explicitly Bitcoin-native listed entity. In contrast to classical treasury strategies, XXI aims not merely to hold Bitcoin. Instead, it actively generates returns through mining, lending, capital markets and financial services. Furthermore, CEO Jack Mallers brings relevant experience with Bitcoin payment infrastructure from his work at Strike.
The business combination with the SPAC Cantor Equity Partners closed on 8 December 2025. Trading on the NYSE began one day later. At the original announcement in April 2025, the pro-forma enterprise value stood at 3.6 billion USD. This valuation rested on a 10-day average Bitcoin price of 84,863.57 USD. To finance the deal, the company placed 486.5 million USD in senior convertible notes and around 365 million USD in common equity PIPEs.
Twenty One Capital remains significantly smaller than the market leader. As of May 2026, Strategy under Michael Saylor holds more than 818,000 BTC worth roughly 66 to 67 billion USD. Therefore, Strategy dominates the segment with over 60% of all Bitcoin held by listed companies. However, with full Tether control and the announced three-way merger, XXI positions itself as an operationally focused counter-model to a pure treasury strategy.
