Twenty One Capital named Jack Mallers its co-founder and chief executive on April 23, 2025. Tether, SoftBank Group and Cantor Equity Partners announced the new Bitcoin treasury company on April 23 in a press release filed with the SEC1. Mallers already ran Strike, the Bitcoin payments company he founded. Twenty One's release said he would "continue with his existing roles and responsibilities" at both companies. The Block reported on April 23, 2025, that Mallers was “joining as CEO of the new crypto venture Twenty One Capital, majority-owned by stablecoin issuer Tether.” Its story credited the firm's own announcement that Wednesday2.
Four leadership moves at Twenty One Capital on the record since 2025
Every move CryptoLately has verified there, by the day it became public
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| April 23, 2025 | Mallers became CEO. Jack Mallers was named Chief Executive Officer of Twenty One Capital |
| June 8, 2026 | Lalljie joined the board. Paul S. Lalljie joined the board of Twenty One Capital |
| July 20, 2026 | Mallers left as CEO. Jack Mallers left as Chief Executive Officer of Twenty One Capital |
| July 20, 2026 | Zagury became CEO. Raphael Zagury was named Chief Executive Officer of Twenty One Capital |
35 CEO appointments on the record in 2025, the most of any year
CEO appointments CryptoLately has verified, by year; 2026 through Oct. 2, 2026
- 2025: 35
- 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2026
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 8 |
| 2020 | 7 |
| 2021 | 6 |
| 2022 | 18 |
| 2023 | 17 |
| 2024 | 26 |
| 2025 | 35 |
| 2026 | 18 |
The move
Twenty One Capital said it would launch through a business combination with Cantor Equity Partners, a special-purpose acquisition company sponsored by an affiliate of Cantor Fitzgerald. Tether and Bitfinex took majority ownership, and SoftBank Group held a significant minority stake1. The companies said Twenty One would launch with more than 42,000 bitcoin, the third-largest Bitcoin treasury in the world at the time. Twenty One and Cantor Equity Partners planned to raise $585 million toward that purchase. The money would come from convertible notes and a stock offering. Mallers framed the new company as a different kind of public stock. "Markets need reliable money to measure value and allocate capital efficiently," he said. “We believe that Bitcoin is the answer, and Twenty One is how we bring that answer to public markets. Our mission is simple: to become the most successful company in Bitcoin, the most valuable financial opportunity of our time. We're not here to beat the market, we're here to build a new one. A public stock, built by Bitcoiners, for Bitcoiners.”
Tether's chief executive, Paolo Ardoino, sits on Twenty One's board. He backed the choice in the same release. “With Jack at the helm, we are proud to support this effort to further Bitcoin's adoption and reinforce its role as the ultimate store of value,” he said1. The Block noted that Mallers had entered the public stage in 2021. He pushed bitcoin adoption in El Salvador under President Nayib Bukele. His plan at the time drew criticism from some Bitcoiners for its reliance on the stablecoin USDT, which Mallers said then he intended to "phase out"2.
A new entity, built around two metrics
Twenty One got built for the April 23, 2025 announcement. Its release introduced two metrics for the first time. Bitcoin Per Share measures how much bitcoin each fully diluted share represents, and Bitcoin Return Rate measures how fast that figure grows1. Mallers kept his post as founder and chief executive of Strike while he added the new title at Twenty One.
What came next
Mallers ran Twenty One for 15 months. Its board named Raphael Zagury chief executive effective July 20, 2026, the company said in a release dated July 21, 20263. Zagury succeeded Mallers, “who is stepping down to focus on Strike during its next phase of growth,” the release said. Paolo Ardoino thanked Mallers in the same release “for guiding the Company through its business combination and successful listing on the New York Stock Exchange in December 2025”.
Sources
- Twenty One Capital, "Tether, SoftBank Group, and Jack Mallers launch Twenty One, a Bitcoin-native Company, through a business combination with Cantor Equity Partners," SEC EX-99.1, April 23, 2025, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1865602/000121390025034374/ea023922201ex99-1_cantor.htm
- Daniel Kuhn, "Strike founder Jack Mallers to lead Tether-backed multi-billion bitcoin buying venture, Twenty One Capital," The Block, April 23, 2025, https://www.theblock.co/post/351720/strike-founder-jack-mallers-to-lead-tether-backed-multi-billion-bitcoin-buying-venture-twenty-one-capital
- Twenty One Capital, "Twenty One Capital Appoints Raphael Zagury as Chief Executive Officer," SEC EX-99.1, July 21, 2026, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2070457/000121390026079805/ea029862901ex99-1.htm