Key Takeaways
- Jack Mallers stepped down as Twenty One Capital CEO on July 20, returning full time to Strike.
- Raphael Zagury now leads Twenty One Capital, which holds 43,514 BTC worth roughly $2.9 billion.
- XXI shares fell on July 21 as the Strike merger plan collapsed and Elektron talks continue.
Mallers co-founded Twenty One Capital and led the company through its December 2025 debut on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) via a merger with Cantor Equity Partners. He and the company built the firm around a large bitcoin treasury and framed it as a bitcoin native alternative to traditional corporate structures.
“I’ve decided to step down as CEO of Twenty One,” Mallers wrote on the social media platform X. “My life’s work remains bitcoin. My bitcoin company is Strike. The work continues.”
Mallers Returns Full Time to Strike
Mallers is returning full-time to Strike, the bitcoin payments company he leads. He and Zagury are working together on the handoff. “I’m grateful to everyone at XXI and everyone who believed in what we built,” Mallers disclosed.
Three-Way Merger Falls Apart
The leadership change came alongside the collapse of a proposed three-way merger between Twenty One Capital, Strike, and Elektron Energy, the bitcoin mining firm Zagury founded. Twenty One first raised the idea of combining the three companies on April 29, 2026. Strike will now remain independent. A possible combination with Elektron is still under review, though the company said any such deal would need approval as a related person transaction under Texas law, given Zagury’s ties to both firms.
Who Is Raphael Zagury
Zagury spent years on Wall Street, holding roles at Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, and Merrill Lynch before co-founding investment bank One Partners and Brazilian fintech lender OpenCo. He had already served as an independent director at Twenty One Capital and as interim chair of its audit committee.
“My job is to build the operating company around it, with the discipline, governance, and executional rigor of an institution,” Zagury said, referring to the company’s bitcoin balance sheet.
“On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank Jack for his vision and leadership in founding Twenty One Capital, and for guiding the Company through its business combination and successful listing on the New York Stock Exchange in December 2025,” Tether’s CEO Paolo Ardoino, who sits on Twenty One’s board, wrote on Tuesday.
The Bitcoin Treasury and New Priorities
Twenty One Capital holds 43,514 BTC, the second-largest corporate bitcoin treasury behind Strategy. At current prices, the holding is worth close to $2.9 billion, against a cost basis near $3.69 billion.
The company disclosed in its announcement that it will focus on five priorities going forward: corporate governance, building operating businesses, expanding capital markets activity, disciplined acquisitions, and a bitcoin-backed lending platform.
Stock Reaction and What Comes Next
Shares of XXI (NYSE: XXI) fell on July 21 following the news, trading in the $4.60 to $5.40 range intraday. The stock has traded well below its 2025 peak of around $47 and remains highly tied to bitcoin’s price and to investor sentiment toward treasury companies that hold bitcoin without generating much operating cash flow. Shares are down 53% from the peak, and around 45% of those losses came from the past six months.
The company’s next earnings report is expected in early August, when investors will look for more details on the Elektron discussions and on how Zagury plans to turn a bitcoin treasury into a cash-generating business.