Summary
- Jack Mallers has resigned as CEO of Twenty One Capital, announcing his return to the independent Bitcoin payments firm Strike.
- The proposed merger of Twenty One, Strike, and Elektron Energy into a single publicly traded Bitcoin company has been abandoned.
- Shares of XXI plummeted nearly 18% on Tuesday, marking a drop of over 80% from its peak last year.
Jack Mallers has stepped down from his role as CEO of Twenty One Capital, a move that has not been well-received by investors.
On Tuesday, shares of the Bitcoin treasury company—publicly traded and holding Bitcoin on its balance sheet for investor access—fell by almost 15%.
Mallers was a co-founder of Twenty One alongside Tether, the issuer of USDT, the leading dollar-pegged stablecoin in the cryptocurrency market. The company went public on the New York Stock Exchange in December 2025 through a SPAC merger, which is a type of shell company created to expedite the public listing process.
Twenty One Capital currently possesses 43,514 BTC, valued at over $4 billion at present, making it the second-largest holder of Bitcoin among public companies, following Michael Saylor's Strategy. Strategy pioneered the corporate Bitcoin treasury strategy in 2020, leveraging borrowed funds to acquire Bitcoin at scale and challenging critics of the approach.
The Failed Merger
Mallers' resignation coincides with disappointing news regarding Tether's plan to merge three Bitcoin-focused businesses into a single publicly traded entity, as reported by Bloomberg. This merger aimed to integrate the treasury operations of Twenty One, the Bitcoin payment and lending services of Strike (operating in over 100 nations), and the mining infrastructure of Elektron Energy into a unified public company.
The merger was first announced in April 2026 during the Bitcoin Conference, with Mallers supporting the initiative. As Decrypt previously covered, the plan was marketed as an effort to establish "the premier listed Bitcoin company in the world," amalgamating mining, payment solutions, and treasury management into one stock. Mallers was expected to lead this new entity, while Elektron Energy's founder, Raphael Zagury, was to assume the role of president.
However, that vision has now dissipated. Strike will continue as a separate entity, and discussions between Twenty One and Elektron regarding a potential partnership are still in the preliminary stages, with no formal agreements in place.
In a brief statement on X, Mallers commented, "This wasn't an easy decision, but it was the right one. My life's work remains Bitcoin. My Bitcoin company is Strike. The work continues."
I have decided to step down as CEO of Twenty One.
This wasn't an easy decision, but it was the right one. This experience brought tremendous clarity about who I am and what I want to build.
My life's work remains Bitcoin. My Bitcoin company is @Strike.
The work continues. pic.twitter.com/L70YFYPt11
— Jack Mallers (@jackmallers) July 21, 2026
Raphael Zagury, founder of Elektron Energy and a former executive at Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch, and Goldman Sachs, has been appointed as the new CEO. His approach contrasts significantly with Mallers', as he emphasizes institutional discipline over aggressive Bitcoin accumulation. According to Tether's official announcement, Zagury stated that Twenty One should be evaluated based on its cash flow and capital allocation discipline.
The category of Bitcoin treasury companies has been facing increasing skepticism since their initial rise. Shares of Twenty One hit a 52-week peak of $31.51 before plummeting to a low of $4.81. In May 2026, Tether sought to consolidate control by buying out SoftBank's approximately 25% stake, which the Japanese investment firm had originally purchased for $999.3 million.