In brief
- Brandon Lutnick's 21 Capital will receive $3 billion pooled from SoftBank, Tether, and Bitfinex
- The vehicle wants to follow MicroStrategy's success as a public Bitcoin-focused company
- Partners will convert Bitcoin contributions to shares at a $85,000 per coin valuation.
Brandon Lutnick, son of U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, is creating a multibillion-dollar Bitcoin acquisition vehicle in partnership with SoftBank, Tether, and Bitfinex, the Financial Times reported Tuesday.
The new venture, called 21 Capital, will receive $3 billion in Bitcoin from its partners—$1.5 billion from Tether, $900 million from SoftBank, and $600 million from Bitfinex, according to three people briefed on the matter, as cited by the Financial Times.
Decrypt has reached out to Tether, SoftBank, Bitfinex, and Cantor Fitzgerald on the matter, but did not receive an immediate response.
While the deal is expected to be announced in the coming weeks, it may not materialize and the figures remain subject to change, per the report.
The venture will operate through Cantor Equity Partners, a special-purpose acquisition company that raised $200 million in January of this year, which will serve as the launchpad for 21 Capital.
Bitcoin Bull Howard Lutnick Defends Tether in Senate Hearing—But Supports Stablecoin Audits
Wall Street billionaire Howard Lutnick, President Donald Trump’s pick for Commerce Secretary and a noted Bitcoin bull, said during his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday that he would support government audits of stablecoin reserves. Lutnick’s own firm, Cantor Fitzgerald, currently custodies billions of dollars in assets that back Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin. The world has had to take the company’s word for it, though, as no independent agency has verified how much fiat currency C...
Cantor's forays into crypto follow key moves it has made over the past year.
In November of last year, plans for a separate $2 billion Bitcoin lending program, to be launched by Cantor Fitzgerald with Tether, emerged.
By March this year, Cantor announced it would make use of crypto platforms maintained by Anchorage Digital and Copper.
The moves also coincide with President Trump’s November appointment of Howard Lutnick, who worked at Cantor for over four decades, as Commerce Secretary.
The consortium aims to create a publicly listed alternative to MicroStrategy, which has surged to a $91 billion market capitalization after pivoting to Bitcoin investing.
Cantor Fitzgerald Plans $2 Billion Bitcoin Lending Program via Tether: Report
U.S. financial services and bond trading firm Cantor Fitzgerald is reportedly discussing a multibillion-dollar Bitcoin-backed lending program with the help of Tether. The proposed program would allow clients to borrow dollars using Bitcoin as collateral. Initially, the operation would begin with a $2 billion allotment, though it has the potential to expand as crypto sees more adoption, according to a Bloomberg report on Saturday. It's yet another step towards a symbiotic relationship between Wal...
Partners working with Cantor are scheduled to convert their Bitcoin investments into 21 Capital shares, priced at $10 per share, bringing the price per Bitcoin valuation to $85,000 per coin.
The deal comes amid the Trump administration's more accommodative stance toward cryptocurrency trading.
Bitcoin's price peaked at around $106,000 earlier this year, following Trump's election victory. While it had fallen to $79,000, the asset has since recovered to $93,100 at the time of writing.
Edited by Sebastian Sinclair
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