Original Author: KarenZ, Foresight News
Against the backdrop of the Trump administration releasing positive policy signals for cryptocurrencies, U.S. financial services giant Cantor Fitzgerald is jointly preparing a Bitcoin joint venture worth $3 billion with SoftBank Group, stablecoin issuer Tether, and its affiliated exchange Bitfinex. The aim is to seize the opportunities of the Trump administration's lenient cryptocurrency policies and replicate Strategy's successful model of market value surge through Bitcoin investment. This move is seen as a landmark event of traditional financial capital accelerating its embrace of the digital currency market.
What are the transaction details?
According to the Financial Times, citing three informed sources, this special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) named Cantor Equity Partners is led by Cantor Fitzgerald's current chairman Brandon Lutnick. Brandon Lutnick is the son of the current U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, who will step down as Cantor Fitzgerald's chairman in February 2025 and become the Secretary of Commerce, with Brandon Lutnick succeeding him as chairman.
As a financial services company established in 1945, Cantor Fitzgerald focuses on institutional equity, fixed income sales and trading, investment banking, real estate financing, and brokerage services, and has actively expanded the integration of cryptocurrencies and traditional finance in recent years. In July 2024, Cantor Fitzgerald announced plans to launch a Bitcoin financing business, offering $2 billion in loans and potentially increasing the loan amount by another $2 billion as needed, providing leverage for Bitcoin investors. Howard Lutnick stated at the time that the company also holds a "substantial" amount of Bitcoin.
The Financial Times reported that according to the latest plan, Cantor Equity Partners raised $200 million in January and plans to create a new company called 21 Capital based on these funds, absorbing $3 billion in Bitcoin from SoftBank, Tether, and Bitfinex to create a publicly listed cryptocurrency investment platform.
The specific funding plan is as follows: Tether promises to provide $1.5 billion in Bitcoin, with SoftBank and Bitfinex contributing $900 million and $600 million in Bitcoin, respectively. According to the terms, the Bitcoin investments from SoftBank, Tether, and Bitfinex will be converted into 21 Capital shares at $10 per share, valuing Bitcoin at $85,000 per coin. Additionally, Cantor Equity Partners will issue $350 million in convertible bonds and $200 million in private equity financing to further acquire Bitcoin. The Financial Times cited informed sources saying that while the agreement may be announced in the coming weeks, it may not materialize, and the transaction figures may change.
Replicating MicroStrategy?
It can be seen that the establishment of 21 Capital is largely inspired by Strategy's (formerly MicroStrategy) transformation miracle. MicroStrategy, originally a software company, began massively purchasing Bitcoin by issuing stocks and bonds in 2020 and has now become a benchmark for corporate Bitcoin investment, with its market value soaring to $91 billion. As of April 20, 2025, Strategy holds 538,200 BTC, with an average purchase price of $67,766.
The Financial Times reported that this transaction is just the beginning of Cantor Fitzgerald's layout in the SPAC field. In addition to Cantor Equity Partners, Cantor Fitzgerald has launched two other SPACs led by Brandon Lutnick, both of which are actively seeking investment opportunities.
The market speculates that 21 Capital will subsequently go public through Cantor Equity Partners, utilizing the flexibility of SPACs and the financing capabilities of the public market to attract more institutional investors into the cryptocurrency market.
Cantor Fitzgerald and Tether's Long-standing Collaboration
Cantor Fitzgerald and Tether have deep-rooted business connections. In November 2024, a Wall Street Journal report revealed their close business ties. At the time, Howard Lutnick, then Cantor Fitzgerald's chairman (now U.S. Secretary of Commerce), had Tether's mysterious owner Giancarlo Devasini (currently Tether's chairman, previously CFO according to Tether's official website) as one of his most important clients. Most of Tether's assets, totaling $134 billion, are held by Cantor Fitzgerald, mostly in U.S. Treasury bonds. Because Tether holds these U.S. Treasury bonds through Cantor Fitzgerald's custody business to support Tether's value, this custody relationship generates millions of dollars in annual income for Cantor.
More notably, the Wall Street Journal cited information from informed business partners that in 2023, Cantor Fitzgerald and Tether reached an agreement where Cantor Fitzgerald held 5% of Tether's shares, with Cantor valuing these shares at $600 million at the time.
Giancarlo Devasini privately suggested in 2024 that Howard Lutnick might use his political influence to alleviate Tether's regulatory pressure. However, a Tether spokesperson subsequently clarified that the collaboration with Cantor Fitzgerald was purely based on professional reserve management, denying speculation about regulatory influence. Howard Lutnick has also publicly stated that to comply with government ethical standards, he plans to divest his shares in Cantor Fitzgerald. It is worth noting that the U.S. Department of Commerce has historically played a limited role in cryptocurrency regulation.
Additionally, in December 2024, Cantor Fitzgerald facilitated Tether's $775 million investment in the right-wing video platform Rumble, serving as the placement agent and transaction broker.
It is worth mentioning that Rumble is a conservative-leaning video sharing platform, with its primary users including Trump supporters, libertarians, and anti-mainstream media groups. Although Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that "Tether's investment in Rumble reflects our shared values: decentralization, independence, transparency, and the fundamental right to free speech," the investment was seen by the outside world as an example of cryptocurrency capital expanding into politically associated media. In late November 2024, Rumble's board approved a corporate treasury diversification strategy, which included a Bitcoin allocation strategy allowing the company to purchase up to $20 million in Bitcoin at its discretion. Subsequently, in January 2025, Rumble purchased $17.1 million worth of Bitcoin.
As a traditional investment bank, Cantor Fitzgerald is gradually deepening its involvement in the crypto ecosystem through such transactions. This collaboration with SoftBank, Tether, and Bitfinex is another significant layout in the cryptocurrency field for Cantor Fitzgerald.
SoftBank's Crypto Journey
The $3 billion Bitcoin joint venture between Cantor Fitzgerald, SoftBank, and Tether also reflects SoftBank's formal entry into the Bitcoin market. The investment giant's crypto journey has been quite turbulent:
According to a Wall Street Journal report, in late 2017, founder Masayoshi Son made a massive bet on Bitcoin but lost $130 million when he liquidated during the price crash in early 2018.
Its Vision Fund had invested nearly $100 million in FTX.
This participation in Bitcoin investment through the SPAC structure shows a more cautious and institutionalized investment strategy.
Summary
For 21 Capital, its future success will depend on multiple key factors. First is the long-term trend of Bitcoin prices, as the dominant cryptocurrency in the market, its price fluctuations will directly impact 21 Capital's asset value and investment returns. Second, the specific implementation of the Trump administration's crypto policies is crucial. If the policies continue to maintain a friendly attitude towards cryptocurrencies and provide a clear regulatory framework, it will be beneficial to 21 Capital's development. Additionally, the execution of the SPAC transaction will determine whether 21 Capital can achieve its goals. If legal or financial issues arise during the transaction, it may hinder the project's progress. If the transaction is successfully completed, it could trigger more traditional financial institutions to follow suit, thereby accelerating the integration of cryptocurrencies and traditional finance.
With the entry of traditional financial giants like Cantor Fitzgerald and SoftBank, the cryptocurrency market is ushering in a new development stage, and the demand for institutional investors to build compliant investment channels has surged. This cross-border cooperation has the potential to reshape the institutional allocation landscape of digital assets, which may attract more traditional financial institutions to re-examine the cryptocurrency market and drive more funds into the field, thereby changing the status and proportion of digital assets in institutional portfolios. Of course, 21 Capital has also sparked market discussion due to its complex political and business network.
