Tether backs three-way merger for Twenty One Capital

Tether proposed a two-stage merger to combine Twenty One Capital Inc. (NYSE: XXI) with Bitcoin trading firm Strike and miner Elektron Energy. Under the plan, Twenty One would first merge with Strike and then fold Elektron into the combined company as a second step. XXI shares rose 6.6% in after-hours trading Wednesday.

Tether Investments, the majority shareholder in Twenty One Capital, announced it intends to vote its shares in favor of the transactions. Twenty One Capital went public in New York in December 2025 through a SPAC merger. Despite the after-hours gain, the stock remains about 15.8% below its level earlier this year.

Strike, founded by Jack Mallers, is a Bitcoin-focused financial services company that enables trading and lending against bitcoin. Elektron Energy, led by Raphael Zagury, operates roughly 50 exahashes per second of mining capacity, which Tether estimates equals about 5% of the current Bitcoin network.

Tether proposed that Zagury serve as president of the combined company. The filing frames the combined business as a mix of operating mining assets, a financial services arm and Twenty One Capital as the public vehicle.

In a statement, Tether wrote,

If consummated, the transactions would allow the combined entity to leverage a strong balance sheet, a large-scale profitable operating business, and a financial services division built to spearhead Bitcoin adoption.

The firm added the merger could position Twenty One Capital to move beyond a treasury-focused model into a platform with operating businesses, recurring revenue and long-term bitcoin accumulation capabilities.

Tether did not provide a timeline for completing the deals. The proposal said regulatory approvals and shareholder votes would be required before the mergers could close.