Tether buys 4,812 BTC worth $459 million for Twenty One Capital, Tether-backed Bitcoin investment company

Stablecoin issuer Tether has purchased 4,812.2 Bitcoin worth apbout $458.7 million for Bitcoin investment firm Twenty One Capital.

The Bitcoin was bought at an average price of $95,319 and transferred to an escrow wallet on May 9, according to a May 13 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed by Cantor Equity Partners.

Twenty One Capital is currently backed by Tether and awaiting the completion of a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) merger with Cantor Equity Partners.

Until the merger is finalized, Cantor holds 31,500 Bitcoin on behalf of Twenty One. Once the deal is complete, the company will trade publicly under the ticker symbol XXI.

With the latest purchase, Twenty One now holds a total of 36,312 Bitcoin, making it the third-largest corporate holder of Bitcoin—behind Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), which holds 568,840 BTC, and MARA Holdings, with 48,237 BTC, based on data from BitcoinTreasuries.net.

Twenty One is led by Jack Mallers, also CEO of Strike. On May 13, Mallers confirmed that the SPAC merger is already in the approval phase, though no timeline for completion was given.

Tether holds a majority stake in Twenty One alongside crypto exchange Bitfinex.

Cantor Fitzgerald, a major Wall Street firm, is sponsoring the SPAC merger and has raised $585 million to support Twenty One’s Bitcoin strategy. Additionally, SoftBank, the Japanese investment giant, has invested $900 million into the firm.

In an April presentation to the SEC, Twenty One stated its goal of surpassing Michael Saylor’s Strategy as the go-to investment vehicle for efficient Bitcoin exposure.

The company positions itself as a “pure play” Bitcoin firm with native operations and greater flexibility in raising strategic capital compared to its peers.