The purchase was disclosed in a recent SEC filing, and makes it the third-largest corporate holder of Bitcoin. The firm is supported by Tether, Bitfinex, SoftBank, and Cantor Fitzgerald, and it plans to surpass Michael Saylor’s Strategy in Bitcoin per share. Meanwhile, Nasdaq-listed GDC announced plans to raise $300 million to build a crypto treasury, including Bitcoin and the TRUMP token. Despite growing institutional interest, Bitcoin’s price remains range-bound near $104,000.
Twenty One Capital Races to Overtake Strategy
Tether, the issuer behind the world’s most widely used stablecoin USDT, recently acquired $458.7 million worth of Bitcoin on behalf of Twenty One Capital, which is a Bitcoin investment firm it backs. The purchase was disclosed in a May 13 filing by Cantor Equity Partners with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC),and it involved the acquisition of 4,812.2 BTC at an average price of $95,319 per coin. The Bitcoin was transferred into an escrow wallet on May 9.
This move brings Twenty One’s total Bitcoin holdings to 36,312 BTC, placing it as the third largest corporate holder of Bitcoin. It trails only behind Strategy, with 568,840 BTC, and Bitcoin mining company MARA Holdings with 48,237 BTC, according to data from BitcoinTreasuries.net. Cantor Equity Partners holds 31,500 BTC on behalf of Twenty One and is also facilitating a SPAC merger that will list the firm under the ticker “XXI” once completed.
Top Bitcoin holders (Source: BitcoinTreasuries.net)
Jack Mallers, the CEO of Twenty One and also the head of Strike, confirmed that the company is currently undergoing the merger approval process but did not specify a timeline for its completion. Tether is a majority stakeholder in Twenty One alongside crypto exchange Bitfinex, while Cantor Fitzgerald, a major Wall Street player, is sponsoring the SPAC deal and secured $585 million in funding to support the firm’s Bitcoin acquisition strategy.
Additionally, Japanese investment giant SoftBank contributed $900 million to Twenty One, to help boost the firm’s ambitions. In filings that were made in April, Twenty One described its goal to outpace Michael Saylor’s Strategy as the top vehicle for investors seeking capital-efficient Bitcoin exposure. Unlike traditional companies that focus on earnings per share, Twenty One’s key performance metric will be “Bitcoin per share.”
Twenty One vs Strategy (Source: SEC)
The company plans to reach 42,000 BTC by launch, with contributions including 23,950 BTC from Tether, 10,500 BTC from SoftBank, and around 7,000 BTC from Bitfinex, which will be converted to equity at $10 per share. After the Bitcoin purchase, Cantor Equity Partners’ share price rose by 5.2% in after-hours trading, although it retreated from its May 2 peak of $59.73 to around $29.84.
GDC Joins Bitcoin Treasury Trend
GD Culture Group (GDC), a Nasdaq-listed micro-cap company, also recently announced plans to raise up to $300 million to establish a cryptocurrency treasury reserve. The company, alongside its subsidiary AI Catalysis, revealed on May 12 that it entered a common stock purchase agreement with a British Virgin Islands-based entity to sell up to $300 million in common stock. The funds raised will be used to buy Bitcoin and the Official Trump (TRUMP) token as part of its strategy to integrate crypto assets into its treasury operations.
GDC stated that this initiative is intended to align the company with the broader decentralization movement and is part of the firm’s ambitions to embrace blockchain-based financial infrastructure. Chairman and CEO Xiaojian Wang said that the move builds on GDC’s strengths in digital innovation and livestreaming e-commerce, while also positioning the company for a blockchain-driven future.
GD Culture Group stock price over the past year (Source: Nasdaq)
The announcement was made despite the regulatory challenges facing GDC. The company recently received a Nasdaq noncompliance warning after it reported stockholders’ equity of only $2,643, which was far below the required $2.5 million. GDC was given until May 4 to submit a compliance plan. If accepted, the firm will have up to 180 days from the notification date to regain compliance with Nasdaq’s listing standards.
GDC’s announcement also coincides with a major event connected to the TRUMP token, one of the crypto assets the firm plans to acquire. On May 22, the top 25 holders of TRUMP tokens are scheduled to attend a private dinner at the White House. The meme coin project already halted additional purchase considerations for the dinner, and attendees have been asked to undergo background checks.
This event attracted a lot of criticism from some US lawmakers and regulatory experts. Senator Cynthia Lummis voiced concerns over the exclusivity of the dinner for top token holders, and also suggested that it raises ethical questions. Legal experts also warned that the Trump family’s increasing involvement in crypto could invite heightened scrutiny from the SEC.
Tug of War Continues for Bitcoin Direction
Despite all of the interest in Bitcoin from multiple businesses, BTC faced renewed selling pressure as US markets opened on May 13. This also happened despite encouraging inflation data that sent traditional stocks higher.
BTC’s price action over the past 24 hours (Source: CoinMarketCap)
BTC/USD once again dipped below the $104,000 level, with the move defying expectations that lower-than-forecast inflation would boost risk assets. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Consumer Price Index rose just 2.3% year-over-year in April, which was the smallest increase since February of 2021. While the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both responded positively by gaining 0.7% and 1.4% respectively, Bitcoin’s price stayed stagnant.
Market analysts pointed out that Bitcoin hovered near key liquidity zones, suggesting a temporary pause in directional momentum. Data from CoinGlass revealed that both upward and downward liquidity clusters were cleared, which prompted trader Daan Crypto Trades to comment that the market was now in a range-bound state with no massive liquidity levels in play. The day before, he predicted a drop to around $102,000, which played out as expected.
Crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe added that Bitcoin stalling at current levels is not alarming and explained that a pullback to $97,500–$98,000 will still maintain the broader uptrend toward new all-time highs.
Meanwhile, QCP Capital suggested that Bitcoin remains caught between its role as digital gold and as a risk-on asset, which created a lack of clear direction in the short term. They believe the evolving macro environment, shifting from protectionist policies to global trade optimism, could keep BTC trading sideways for now.
Despite the immediate price weakness, some voices in the space are still very bullish. Binance CEO Richard Teng pointed to Bitcoin’s strong performance relative to traditional assets, and said that it outpaced gold, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq since April 2. He also called Bitcoin’s momentum “undeniable.”
