Tether buys $459M Bitcoin for Twenty One Capital

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 BitcoinBTC$103,722BitcoinChange (24h)1.24%Market Cap$2.05TVolume (24h)$31.94BView Moreat $95,319 each andtransferredit to an escrow wallet on May 9, Cantor Equity Partnersdisclosedin 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,saidon 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.

Twenty One is already the third largest corporate Bitcoin holder, trailing only Strategy andBitcoin mining firm MARA Holdingsat 568,840 Bitcoin and 48,237 Bitcoin, respectively, BitcoinTreasuries.netdatashows.

Tether is amajority stakeholder in Twenty Onealongside 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 tosupplant Michael Saylor’s Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, to become the “superior vehicle” for investors seeking “capital-efficient Bitcoin exposure.”

The company is among manyBitcoin 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.

Twenty One said its key success metric will beBitcoin per shareand 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

Twenty One 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 Financedatashows. CEP rose another 5.2% in after-hours following the recent purchase.

Magazine:Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight

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