Shares of Twenty One Capital (XXI), a newly public U.S. company with a Bitcoin-heavy treasury, slid roughly 20% on their first day of trading following a merger with SPAC Cantor Equity Partners. The stock opened at $10.74 on Tuesday, well below Cantor’s $14.27 close the prior day.
Twenty One finished Wednesday’s regular session at $11.42, a decline of about 19.97% over 24 hours, and later rose roughly 2.2% in after-hours trading to $11.67. That share price implies a market value near $4 billion based on its outstanding shares.
Backed by stablecoin issuer Tether, exchange Bitfinex and Japan’s SoftBank Group, the Bitcoin-focused firm put Strike founder Jack Mallers in the CEO role. Twenty One holds more than 43,500 BTC, worth in excess of $4 billion, making it the third-largest public company by Bitcoin holdings according to BitcoinTreasuries.NET, behind miner MARA Holdings.
The company has not released a detailed public operating plan or a timeline for launching one. Mallers told CNBC the business should not be seen simply as a treasury play, saying the goal is to build an operational company rather than be valued solely for its Bitcoin balance. He cited plans to pursue revenue-generating lines such as brokerage, exchange services, credit and lending, and said the firm will share specifics “sooner rather than later.”
Twenty One’s listing comes amid a wave of crypto treasury firms that have debuted this year following a model of raising capital, buying and holding crypto assets, and using proceeds to expand holdings. Those firms drew strong investor interest when Bitcoin peaked in October, but subsequent crypto market weakness has pressured shares of companies with heavy exposure to digital assets.
Mallers appears to be relying on his track record, support from partners like Tether, and a strong belief in Bitcoin to sustain investor confidence. He framed the company’s equity story around Bitcoin’s central role, describing the asset as the primary means of creating shareholder value.