Jack Mallers to Step Down as Twenty One CEO After Strike Tie-Up Is Dropped

Jack Mallers will step down as chief executive of Twenty One Capital to refocus on Strike, after Twenty One and the Bitcoin payments firm scrapped plans to pursue a combination. Twenty One board member Raphael Zagury will succeed Mallers. Zagury, who has experience across capital markets and Bitcoin infrastructure, takes over as the company seeks to build cash-generating businesses around one of the largest corporate Bitcoin treasuries at a time when softer prices and tighter financing conditions are testing the sector. Mallers said the CEO role clarified what he wanted to build. "My life's work remains Bitcoin. My Bitcoin company is Strike. The work continues," he wrote. Tether, Twenty One's controlling shareholder, confirmed Zagury's appointment and said the parties are working toward an orderly transition. Strike deal no longer under consideration The split ends an expansion path Twenty One first outlined less than three months ago. On April 29, the company announced an operating plan that contemplated acquisitions of Strike and Elektron, a Bitcoin mining and energy infrastructure business associated with Zagury. The plan never reached a definitive agreement. Twenty One's March-quarter filing, submitted in May, stated there were no binding commitments for either acquisition and that the board had not approved any transaction. Tether said Twenty One and Strike are no longer contemplating a combination because Strike is best positioned to operate independently. The decision leaves Twenty One to develop its operating model without the payments company that had featured prominently in its growth proposal. Bitcoin treasury remains central to the story Twenty One remains among the largest corporate Bitcoin holders, and the latest disclosed balance sheet highlights the exposure Zagury inherits. As of March 31, Twenty One reported holdings of 43,514 BTC with a fair value of about $2.95 billion, plus roughly $114.1 million in cash. The figures reflect a quarterly snapshot, not a current July balance. The same filing recorded a rounded $847.8 million fair-value loss on the Bitcoin position for the quarter. It also disclosed that approximately 16,116 BTC were pledged as collateral for convertible notes. The accounting loss did not necessarily imply an equivalent cash outflow, but it underscored how closely reported results track Bitcoin's price. Shift toward cash flow and capital discipline The disclosures underline the scale of the treasury-based model Zagury is expected to build. Twenty One has said it aims to increase Bitcoin per share while expanding into financial services, lending, capital markets products and other cash-generating operations tied to its holdings. In Tether's announcement, Zagury said the company should be judged by the cash flow it generates and the discipline it applies in allocating capital. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino also pointed to Zagury's track record in building businesses centered on cash flow and execution. Financing pressure raises the bar The renewed focus on operating cash flow comes as conditions have become more challenging for companies funding large Bitcoin positions. Firms that pitched Bitcoin as a permanent reserve have had to balance debt service, collateral demands, dividends and buybacks against continued accumulation. As CryptoSlate reported in May, those obligations can turn Bitcoin from a passive reserve into a source of corporate liquidity when financing tightens. Stress has also been visible in the securities these companies use to raise capital. Some major treasury-linked preferred shares traded below par during a June selloff even as dividends continued. New corporate Bitcoin credit initiatives have still moved forward this month, leaving investors to weigh whether the structures can withstand extended volatility. Neither Twenty One nor Tether cited market conditions as the driver of the leadership change. Mallers framed his exit as a decision to focus on Strike, while Tether described the handover as the close of Twenty One's founding chapter. Even so, the environment makes Zagury's cash-flow and capital-allocation mandate more immediate. With Strike remaining independent, Twenty One must now show it can build a durable public-company model through a downturn, supported by operating cash flow and financing structures that do not depend solely on a rising Bitcoin price.