Tether-backed Twenty One ups Bitcoin stash to 43,500 BTC, eyes Strategy’s crown

In a bold move to rival Michal Saylor-led Bitcoin giant Strategy, Twenty One Capital has grown its stash to over 43,500 BTC following a new infusion from stablecoin issuer Tether.

On July 29, the NASDAQ hopeful announced that it had received approximately 5,800 additional Bitcoins from Tether. 

With over 43,500 BTC now on its books—worth an estimated $5.15 billion—Twenty One Capital has firmly secured its position as the world’s third-largest corporate Bitcoin holder, behind only Strategy and MARA Holdings.

Tether fulfills its commitment

The latest entry includes two components: 1,381 BTC from a subscription agreement dated June 19, and 4,422 BTC from Tether’s existing obligations under the business combination agreement with Cantor Equity Partners (CEP), the SPAC facilitating Twenty One’s public listing.

Of the 5,800 BTC added, 1,381 were acquired through a June 19 subscription agreement tied to new investor commitments, the firm said, without disclosing any further details.

The remaining 4,422 BTC were contributed by Tether as part of its previously agreed obligations under the merger deal with Cantor Equity Partners (CEP)—the SPAC guiding Twenty One’s transition into a publicly traded Bitcoin-native company.

In early June, Tether sent 10,500 BTC to support SoftBank’s investment in Twenty One Capital, reinforcing the Japanese firm’s position as a key stakeholder ahead of the company’s public listing.

Shortly after, Tether moved another 917 BTC to a separate wallet, linked to pre-funding for investors with the option to convert their commitments into equity.

Twenty One Capital wants to surpass Strategy

Each Bitcoin added brings Twenty One Capital a step closer to the summit long held by Strategy.

However, the gap between the two remains vast. Strategy—formerly MicroStrategy—holds an eye-watering 607,770 BTC, a figure that dwarfs even its nearest rivals and stands more than ten times above Twenty One’s current total.

Sitting in the middle is MARA Holdings, the Bitcoin mining firm that holds the second spot on the leaderboard.

Its reserves, comprising 50,000 BTC, while a fraction of Strategy’s, still keep it ahead of Twenty One—for now.

Saylor has a “real rival”

Market watchers believe Twenty One’s well-capitalized foundation and political connections give it a competitive edge.

“Saylor finally has a real rival,” crypto commentator Marty Party posted on X, referring to CEO Jack Mallers’ stated intent to “raise as much capital as we possibly can to acquire Bitcoin.”

Since its formation in April 2025, Twenty One Capital has positioned itself as a pure-play Bitcoin firm.

It is majority-owned by Tether and Bitfinex, with SoftBank as a significant minority investor. 

The firm is led by Strike CEO Jack Mallers, known for his vocal advocacy of Bitcoin and his work on Lightning payments infrastructure.

The company plans to go public through a SPAC merger with Cantor Equity Partners (NASDAQ: CEP). Upon completion, it will trade under the ticker symbol “XXI.” 

Twenty One also introduced a new performance metric—Bitcoin Per Share (BPS)—to track shareholder value in BTC terms, instead of relying on traditional earnings-per-share metrics.

However, unlike Strategy, which financed its Bitcoin purchases by issuing shares and debt, Twenty One was launched with nearly $4 billion in BTC provided by its founding partners.

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