Cantor Fitzgerald, SoftBank, Bitfinex, and Tether Launch Billion-Dollar "MicroStrategy-Like" Bitcoin Project Twenty One and Other Developments
Led by Howard Lutnick, son of the US Secretary of Commerce, Cantor Fitzgerald, Tether, Bitfinex, and SoftBank are joining forces to create a "Bitcoin-native" public company called Twenty One, with a proposed enterprise value of $3.6 billion through a merger with SPAC company Cantor Equity Partners.
On Tuesday, spot Bitcoin ETF saw a single-day inflow of $936 million - the largest daily inflow since January 17th. Analysts note that this reflects the increasing attractiveness of Bitcoin as a "safe-haven asset" against the backdrop of inflation, geopolitical risks, and a weakening US dollar.
Happy Wednesday! Following the "tokenization of everything" drama on the Base platform, Zora launched token trading this morning without publishing an official claiming guide - however, users can still manually claim airdrops through smart contracts.
Today's highlights: Cantor Fitzgerald, SoftBank, Bitfinex, and Tether collaborate on a "MicroStrategy-like" Bitcoin project; with the strengthening "safe-haven" narrative, spot Bitcoin ETF saw a single-day inflow of $936 million; SEC accuses a crypto executive of a $198 million fraud case, and more.
Meanwhile, former President Trump will host a dinner for 220 TRUMP meme coin holders at the Washington Golf Club.
Details are as follows:
Cantor Fitzgerald, SoftBank, Bitfinex, and Tether Initiate Billion-Dollar "MicroStrategy-Like" Bitcoin Project
Led by Howard Lutnick, son of the US Secretary of Commerce, Cantor Fitzgerald, in collaboration with Tether, Bitfinex, and SoftBank, plans to create a "Bitcoin-native" public company called Twenty One, with a proposed enterprise value of $3.6 billion through a merger with SPAC company Cantor Equity Partners.
Twenty One will initially hold over 42,000 BTC, aiming to benchmark Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy by maximizing Bitcoin holdings (rather than earnings per share in fiat). According to an exclusive Financial Times report, Tether plans to inject $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin into the project, SoftBank will contribute $900 million in Bitcoin, and Bitfinex intends to provide $600 million in cryptocurrencies.
These Bitcoin investments will ultimately be converted to equity at a valuation of $10 per share. Cantor Fitzgerald will also help Twenty One raise $385 million through convertible notes and $200 million through private placement for additional Bitcoin acquisition.
Jack Mallers, CEO of payment app Strike, will serve as Twenty One's CEO, bringing his "Bitcoin-first" philosophy to the public market. The company plans to develop Bitcoin-centric financial products and media content, positioning itself as a publicly traded company "built by Bitcoin believers, for Bitcoin believers".
"Safe-Haven" Bitcoin ETF Attracts $936 Million in Single Day
Analysts note that Tuesday's spot Bitcoin ETF saw a record $936 million single-day inflow, the highest since January 17th, reflecting growing market confidence in Bitcoin's "safe-haven" properties amid inflation, geopolitical risks, and a weakening US dollar.
Ark Invest and 21Shares' ARKB led with $267.1 million inflow, followed by Fidelity FBTC ($253.8 million) and BlackRock IBIT ($193.5 million). US spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen a cumulative inflow of over $1.4 billion in the past three days, with a total net inflow of nearly $37 billion since its launch last January.
Vugar Usi Zade, COO of Bitget, suggests that further US dollar weakness and dovish signals from the Federal Reserve could continue to drive strong ETF inflows.
SEC Accuses Crypto Company Executive of $198 Million Fraud
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sued PGI Global founder Ramil Palafox for allegedly operating a $198 million cryptocurrency fraud, accusing him of misappropriating investor funds to purchase luxury items like Lamborghinis.
The SEC claims Palafox promised profits through crypto and forex trading but actually used over $57 million for personal expenses, with remaining funds paid to early investors in a "Ponzi scheme" manner until the funding collapsed.
The SEC seeks to prohibit Palafox from engaging in securities or crypto business and to recover illicit gains from him and his associates. This case is one of the first priority enforcement actions by the newly established Cyber and Emerging Technologies unit, specifically created to combat fraud in crypto and AI sectors.
Symbiotic Completes $29 Million Series A Funding
Ethereum restaking protocol Symbiotic has completed a $29 million Series A funding round, planning to expand from Ethereum restaking to a universal "cross-chain staking" platform.
Pantera Capital led the round, with Coinbase Ventures and over 100 angel investors from Aave, Polygon, StarkWare, and other projects participating. The protocol allows any network to secure itself using any assets (not limited to native tokens), providing a modular security solution for Layer1, Layer2, oracles, cross-chain bridges, and more.
Currently deployed on 14 networks, Symbiotic plans to expand to over 35 networks and explore use cases beyond staking, such as insurance and AI/zero-knowledge proof collaborative processing.
HEX Founder Richard Heart Claims "SEC Completely Defeated in Crypto Industry"
The SEC has officially withdrawn fraud charges against HEX founder Richard Heart after failing to submit a corrected lawsuit on time following a regional court's inability to dismiss the case on "lack of US jurisdiction" grounds.
In 2023, the SEC sued Heart and HEX, PulseChain, PulseX for raising over $1 billion through unregistered securities and accused Heart and PulseChain of fraudulently misusing funds to purchase luxury items. Heart claims this outcome marks a victory for the open-source industry: "SEC completely collapsed, and the crypto industry won a total victory".
Despite the SEC withdrawing the lawsuit, Heart remains on the Europol wanted list due to Finnish authorities' charges of fraud and tax evasion.
Key Events in the Next 24 Hours
• US Initial Jobless Claims data to be released at 8:30 AM Eastern Time on Thursday
• Federal Reserve Board member Neel Kashkari to give a speech at 5:00 PM Eastern Time
