Twenty One Capital CEO steps down as Tether’s plans to merge three bitcoin firms falls
The proposed three-way merger between Twenty One Capital, Mallers’ Strike, and Elektron Energy has been abandoned.
By Francisco Rodrigues|Edited by Stephen Alpher
Updated Jul 21, 2026, 12:45 p.m. Published Jul 21, 2026, 12:42 p.m.
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Summary
Tether-controlled Twenty One Capital (XXI) named Raphael Zagury as CEO, replacing Jack Mallers, and dropped Strike from a proposed three-way merger, the companies said.
Mallers stepped down effective July 20 to focus on Strike, the bitcoin payments firm he founded. Strike will remain independent and is no longer being considered for a business combination with Twenty One, according to a press release.
Tether, Twenty One’s controlling shareholder, confirmed the changes in a separate announcement.
Tether proposed combining Twenty One, Strike and Elektron in April, seeking to place bitcoin treasury, financial services and mining under one listed company.
Twenty One’s revised strategy will focus on acquiring operating businesses, expanding capital markets capabilities and developing bitcoin-backed lending.
XXI is little changed in pre-market trading.
CoinDesk has reached out to all three companies, but hasn’t heard back at the time of writing.
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In Q2; TRON’s stablecoin dominance rose to 28.7%, USDT supply on TRON hit $89B ATH, $89M in protocol fees (2nd to Hyperliquid), TRX +3%, and deepening institutional & agentic reach.
43 minutes ago
In Q2; TRON’s stablecoin dominance rose to 28.7%, USDT supply on TRON hit $89B ATH, $89M in protocol fees (2nd to Hyperliquid), TRX +3%, and deepening institutional & agentic reach.
Why it matters:
In Q2; TRON’s stablecoin dominance rose to 28.7%, USDT supply on TRON hit $89B ATH, $89M in protocol fees (2nd to Hyperliquid), TRX +3%, and deepening institutional & agentic reach.