The grand plan to unite three Bitcoin business engines has come to a halt. Jack Mallers officially stepped down as CEO of Twenty One Capital on July 20, 2026, handing over leadership control to his successor, Raphael Zagury. He took this step to once again lead Strike - the Bitcoin payments company he founded - as an independently operating entity.
The leadership change puts an end to an industry consolidation scenario that had been underway since the beginning of the year.
Why Was the Three-Way Scenario Scrapped?
In April 2026, Tether devised a megamerger plan to combine its three main business pillars. The scenario included merging a Bitcoin treasury, a financial services network via Strike, and mining infrastructure through Elektron Energy. All three were slated to operate under a single publicly traded entity on the stock exchange.
However, with Mallers stepping down, Strike was pulled from the negotiating table and is no longer part of the merger considerations. Although the payments unit withdrew and scrapped the three-way format, Tether, which holds majority stakes in Twenty One Capital and Elektron, decided to continue separate discussions between the two.
Twenty One Capital occupies a central position within Tether’s portfolio. Launched in 2025 with initial backing from Tether, Cantor Fitzgerald, and SoftBank, the company holds 43,514 Bitcoins in its vaults. Last May, Tether tightened its grip by acquiring SoftBank’s stake in the company. Those reserves of tens of thousands of Bitcoins make them the world’s second-largest corporate crypto asset holder, ranking just behind Michael Saylor’s Strategy.
A New Focus for the Holder of Tens of Thousands of Bitcoins
After calling off the absorption of Strike, Twenty One Capital adjusted its business trajectory. Under Zagury’s guidance, the company’s strategy is now concentrated on three main priorities: acquiring existing operating businesses, expanding in the capital markets sector, and providing Bitcoin-backed lending facilities.
On the stock exchange, market participants showed a muted reaction to the restructuring. Shares of Twenty One Capital, traded on the NYSE under the ticker XXI, moved virtually flat throughout Tuesday’s premarket session.
The three-way merger fell through, setting each company on a distinctly separate path. Strike is now refocusing its efforts on its payments network business, while Twenty One Capital concentrates on leveraging its Bitcoin treasury through lending and capital market instruments. Reported by CoinDesk.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
