A massive 43,033 BTC transfer flagged by Whale Alert Sunday is not a sell-off—it is the settlement capital for Twenty One (XXI), the Bitcoin-native firm led by Jack Mallers set to list on the NYSE December 9.
The $3.9 billion transaction, confirmed on-chain, represents the release of funds from escrow to the company’s direct custody ahead of its public market open.
Tether and the ‘Twenty One’ NYSE Listing
Twenty One is going public via a merger with Cantor Equity Partners, a SPAC backed by Cantor Fitzgerald. The entity launches with a war chest of roughly 43,500 BTC, positioning it immediately as a top-tier corporate holder alongside MicroStrategy and MARA Holdings.
Tether and Bitfinex act as majority owners, having pre-purchased the Bitcoin to sell to Twenty One at cost upon closing. SoftBank remains a minority investor.
CEO, Jack Mallers, moved to preempt liquidity fears immediately.
“Over 43,500 Bitcoin out of escrow and into our custody,” Mallers wrote on X. “Proof of reserves update to follow.”
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino added simply: “XXI, so it begins.”
Bitcoin traded flat at $92,100 following the transfer, shrugging off the on-chain volume spike. The market correctly identified the move as administrative rather than a liquidation event.
The Institutional Take
This transfer operationalizes a new competitor to Strategy’s treasury model, but with a distinct lineage. Unlike Saylor’s debt-financed accumulation, Twenty One enters the NYSE with its stack fully funded by the Tether/Bitfinex liquidity engine.
The involvement of Cantor Fitzgerald—whose CEO Howard Lutnick is a known crypto proponent—signals deep institutional plumbing. Some analysts expect XXI to trade as a high-beta spot Bitcoin proxy, potentially compressing the premium on MSTR if the market views Mallers’ proof-of-reserve model as a superior transparency standard.
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