Cryptocurrency prices continued to power higher Wednesday as bitcoin rallied to $94,000. Meanwhile, spot bitcoin ETFs generated nearly $1 billion in inflows on Tuesday. Elsewhere, Cantor Fitzgerald is planning to launch a $3.6 billion crypto venture with SoftBank, Tether and Bitfinex.
Brandon Lutnick, chair of Cantor Fitzgerald, is creating a multibillion-dollar bitcoin acquisition vehicle that is backed by SoftBank, Tether and Bitfinex.
Brandon Lutnick, son of U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, was appointed to lead Cantor Fitzgerald when his father stepped down to join the Trump administration.
The new consortium, called Twenty One Capital, will serve as a special purpose acquisition company and hopes to eventually go public to compete with the likes of Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy.
The new entity is being formed via a combination with Cantor Equity Partners, a special purpose acquisition company sponsored by an affiliate of Cantor Fitzgerald. Once the combination is closed, Twenty One will be majority owned by Tether and Bitfinex. SoftBank will have "significant" minority ownership, according to the press release.
Tether and Bitfinex are both owned by the same parent company, iFinex. Tether is a stablecoin issuer and Bitfinex is a crypto exchange based in the British Virgin Islands.
Twenty One and Cantor Equity have entered a couple funding agreements once the combination is closed, which the firm estimates will bring in $585 million in additional capital. That includes $385 million in convertible senior notes, and $200 million through common equity PIPE financing.
The firm expects the transaction will provide about $540 million from the transaction. The transaction values Twenty One at $3.6 billion, according to the release.
Twenty One said it plans to use the proceeds from the PIPE offerings to buy additional bitcoin and fund general corporate operations. The firm plans to launch with more than 42,000 bitcoin, which would make it the third-largest bitcoin treasury at the time of writing.
Co-founder Jack Mallers has been tapped as CEO for Twenty One. Mallers previously founded and led Strike, which provides digital payment solutions on the Bitcoin Lightning Network.
The release did not include an official closing date. Shares of Cantor Equity will continue to trade on the Nasdaq under the CEP ticker. Once the deal is finalized, Twenty One plans to trade under the ticker XXI.
Tether has also agreed to purchase an amount of bitcoin equal to the amount of senior notes and PIPE offerings within 10 business days. Twenty One will then use the PIPE proceeds to buy the bitcoin from Tether.
Bitcoin Price, Crypto Market Action
Meanwhile, bitcoin surged on Wednesday to peak at $94,535. Bitcoin traded around $93,300 early Thursday. The crypto has jumped about 7% over the past month, but is down fraction for the year.
Ethereum rallied above $1,800 Wednesday afternoon. ETH traded around $1,770 on Thursday. Ethereum has pared its 2025 tumble to 45%.
The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF and other spot bitcoin ETFs swung 2.2% higher in Wednesday trade. Shares of the group ticked down on Thursday.
The spot bitcoin ETFs saw $912.7 million in inflows on Tuesday, bringing the total inflows to $36.77 billion since their January 2024 launch, according to Farside Investors data. The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF led the group with $267.1 million in inflows, followed by the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund at $253.8 million. The iShares Bitcoin Trust ranked third on the day with $193.5 million in inflows.
The group generated $381.3 million in inflows on Tuesday.
Coinbase stock climbed 3% Thursday, adding to 2.5% gain Wednesday. Shares of the crypto exchange are rebounding close to their 50-day line. Still, COIN stock is down 19% this year.
Strategy stock pared its Wednesday gain to less than 1%, but has still climbed the past five days. MSTR stock ticked up Thursday, on track for its sixth consecutive advance. Shares are up about 20% in 2025.
Wednesday's crypto rally comes after President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he won't "play hardball" with China and walked back expected tariff duties.
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