Twenty One drops Strike merger as Jack Mallers steps down

Bitcoin treasury stocks are under more pressure when credit is tight and prices are weak, which makes Twenty One Capital's leadership change more than routine. Jack Mallers is stepping down as CEO to focus on Strike, and Twenty One has also ended its planned combination with the Bitcoin payments company.

Tether, Twenty One's controlling shareholder, said board member Raphael Zagury will become chief executive during an orderly handover. Zagury now takes charge of a company built around one of the largest corporate Bitcoin holdings, but without the Strike deal that had been part of its expansion plan in April. Twenty One's filing later showed there were no binding agreements or board approval for acquisitions of either Strike or Elektron.

As of March 31, Twenty One reported 43,514 BTC with a fair value of about $2.95 billion and roughly $114.1 million in cash. The same filing recorded an $847.8 million fair-value loss on its Bitcoin position for the quarter and said about 16,116 BTC had been pledged as collateral to convertible notes.

That leaves Zagury with a clearer test. Twenty One has said it wants to grow Bitcoin per share while building lending, capital markets, financial services, and other cash-generating businesses around its holdings. With Strike staying independent, the company now has to show that model can work on its own.