Down 20% on First Day of Listing! Tether-Backed Bitcoin Treasury Company Twenty One Off to a Rocky Start

Backed by stablecoin giant Tether, Bitfinex, and SoftBank, Bitcoin asset company Twenty One Capital suffered a major setback on its first trading day after going public on the New York Stock Exchange via a SPAC merger. On December 10, its stock (ticker: XXI) opened below its issue price and closed at $11.42, plunging 20% from the pre-merger closing price of Cantor Equity Partners, the special purpose acquisition company. Its market cap stood at around $4 billion. The company currently holds about $3.9 billion worth of Bitcoin and plans to expand beyond holding assets, developing Bitcoin financial infrastructure and media education businesses. The poor debut reveals market caution toward new crypto public companies amid a 28% pullback in Bitcoin prices from this year’s high and structural headwinds facing the digital asset treasury model.

Tepid Debut: Why Did Twenty One’s First Trading Day End So Poorly?

For investors seeking Bitcoin exposure via public markets, December 10 offered a sobering example. Highly anticipated Bitcoin company Twenty One Capital officially listed on the NYSE after merging with SPAC Cantor Equity Partners. However, rather than a warm welcome, the market response was icy: shares opened at just $10.74, well below Cantor SPAC’s previous day closing price of $14.27, rebounded slightly intraday, but still closed at $11.42—a steep 20% drop for the day.

This weak performance was not an isolated incident, but instead reflected a broader chill facing crypto asset company IPOs. Just a day earlier, another Bitcoin treasury company, ProCap Financial, which also went public via SPAC, fell 14% on its debut. This suggests that even with high-profile backing from Tether and SoftBank, investors remain highly risk-averse and price sensitive toward new crypto public companies. The macro backdrop is challenging: Bitcoin has dropped more than 28% from its October all-time high of around $126,000 this year, and the overall crypto market is in correction mode, eroding risk appetite for related equities.

Additionally, the SPAC merger model itself has lost its luster in the current market. This “backdoor listing” approach was highly popular during the 2021 bull run, but investors now focus more on the merged entity’s actual profitability, asset quality, and growth prospects than on the listing mechanism itself. Twenty One’s poor debut can be seen as a reality check on its valuation and business model.

Key Data & Listing Performance of Twenty One Capital

• Listing Method: Merged with special purpose acquisition company Cantor Equity Partners Inc.
• Ticker: XXI ( New York Stock Exchange ).
• First Day Performance: Opened at $10.74, closed at $11.42, down 20% from the pre-merger SPAC closing price ($14.27).
• Market Cap: About $4 billion (based on outstanding shares in filing).
• Core Asset: Holds approximately $3.9 billion in Bitcoin.
• Major Shareholders: Tether and Bitfinex (controlling shareholders), SoftBank Group (significant minority shareholder).
• Management: Chairman is Brandon Lutnick of Cantor Fitzgerald; CEO is Jack Mallers, founder of Bitcoin Lightning Network payment company Strike.
• Merger Financing: Includes $486.5 million in senior convertible notes and about $365 million in private equity financing.

Behind the Star-Studded Lineup: Tether’s Ambition and Treasury Strategies in the “Post-Saylor Era”

Despite a rough start, Twenty One Capital’s shareholder background and management team warrant closer examination. Its controlling shareholders are stablecoin leader Tether and its affiliated trading platform Bitfinex, with minority investment from Japanese investment giant SoftBank. This combination provides Twenty One with unique resources: Tether’s massive influence and capital in the crypto ecosystem and SoftBank’s global tech investment network and brand reputation.

At the helm is Jack Mallers, founder of renowned Bitcoin Lightning Network payment app Strike. In interviews, he has drawn a clear distinction from industry benchmark Strategy, emphasizing that Twenty One is not simply copying the “issue shares at a premium to buy Bitcoin” approach. Mallers points out that the company’s treasury stock does not trade at a premium to its net Bitcoin holdings, making it, in his view, a “very attractive tool” for investors seeking Bitcoin exposure and potentially the ultimate winner in this trend.

This statement reveals Twenty One’s ambition to differentiate itself in the “digital asset treasury” arena. With Strategy’s “infinite money glitch” model under pressure due to collapsed share price premiums, Twenty One is entering with a “zero-premium” or “low-premium” positioning, aiming to offer a more pure and rationally valued Bitcoin investment vehicle. Its business plan goes beyond mere asset holding, extending into Bitcoin financial infrastructure and media/education resource development, attempting to build a more three-dimensional ecosystem. However, the market does not yet appear fully convinced by this narrative, as the first-day plunge shows.

The DAT Model Dilemma: How Can Twenty One Break Through Triple Pressures?

The tepid reception of Twenty One’s IPO stems from deep-seated structural challenges facing the “digital asset treasury” (DAT) model. Since the start of the year, DAT companies such as Strategy and BitMine have seen their share prices tumble, facing three major pressures.

The first pressure comes from asset-side price pullbacks. Declines in Bitcoin and other crypto prices directly erode the value of these companies’ core assets and their book profits. Second, the competitive landscape has shifted dramatically. The launch and growing popularity of spot Bitcoin ETFs now offer traditional and institutional investors a lower-cost, more liquid, direct exposure to Bitcoin with no company management premium—significantly undermining the unique value proposition of DAT companies as “Bitcoin proxies.” Third, the valuation logic itself has unraveled. The market is no longer willing to pay a substantial net asset premium for DAT company stocks, making their “perpetual motion machine” model of issuing shares to raise capital and acquire more Bitcoin unsustainable.

Against this backdrop, Twenty One’s “zero-premium” strategy is a double-edged sword. While it avoids the “premium collapse” risk currently facing Strategy and makes its valuation appear more solid, it also means giving up the key tool of using a premium to accelerate capital operations and asset accumulation. The core question for Twenty One and its management is how to prove its superiority to simply holding a Bitcoin ETF, without the boost of valuation froth. Whether its planned infrastructure and media businesses can generate enough additional alpha to attract investors remains to be seen.

Founder’s “Banking War” and the Real-World Challenges for Crypto Companies

Beyond the corporate milestone of going public, a recent personal episode involving Twenty One CEO Jack Mallers may shed light on the vast divide that still exists between the crypto industry and the traditional financial system. On November 24, Mallers shared on social media a framed letter from JPMorgan Chase Bank. Dated September 2, 2025, the letter notified him that his account was being closed due to “compliance issues identified under the Bank Secrecy Act and other regulations” and “unusual account activity,” and that he is banned from opening new accounts in the future—without further explanation.

Mallers noted that, despite his father’s decades-long business relationship with JPMorgan Chase, this outcome was unchanged. While a single case, this event is emblematic: even for someone like Mallers—an accomplished entrepreneur in Bitcoin payments and soon-to-be CEO of a NYSE-listed company—traditional banks can unilaterally cut off basic financial services on vague “compliance risk” grounds. This “de-banking” risk is a persistent reality for many crypto-native companies and professionals.

For newly-listed Twenty One, the founder’s experience serves as a reminder to both investors and the team: the rise of crypto companies requires not only navigating capital market volatility, but also working continuously to establish legitimacy and acceptance within the broader financial infrastructure. Building stable, trusted bridges with highly regulated traditional financial systems is an essential part of long-term, sustainable operations.