Tether Investments has unveiled a strategic proposal to reshape Twenty-One Capital (XXI) into a fully integrated bitcoin business by merging it with Jack Mallers’ Strike and later combining the enlarged group with mining platform Elektron Energy. If completed, the transaction would move XXI beyond being a simple treasury-style bitcoin exposure vehicle and turn it into a company spanning mining, lending, capital markets, and financial services.
Bringing together distribution and mining scale
Tether’s El Salvador-based investment arm said it intends to vote its shares in favor of the deal. Strike already operates in more than 100 countries, offering users the ability to buy, sell, and borrow against bitcoin. Under Mallers, the company has remained profitable while building regulatory infrastructure, making it an attractive source of recurring revenue and global customer reach for XXI.
Elektron Energy would add the industrial side of the equation. Led by Raphael Zagury, the firm manages roughly 50 EH/s of mining capacity, equal to about 5% of the global Bitcoin network hashpower. It has produced more than 5,500 BTC, with an all-in production cost currently below $60,000 per coin. That gives the proposed combined company significant operational depth and a potentially competitive mining cost structure.
Zagury tapped for leadership role
Tether Investments has recommended Zagury as president of the newly formed XXI entity. The proposed leadership structure is designed to pair Mallers’ strength in consumer-facing bitcoin services with Zagury’s background in capital markets and large-scale infrastructure. The goal is to support disciplined capital allocation while expanding the company’s bitcoin accumulation and service strategy.
Supporters of the merger argue that the transaction would create a more complete public-market bitcoin company by uniting a global financial services brand with industrial mining infrastructure. In that vision, the new XXI would be positioned to operate across multiple layers of the bitcoin economy rather than relying on a single business line.
Key terms still under discussion
Important elements of the deal, including transaction terms, governance, and final asset scope, remain under negotiation. Further updates are expected as the parties move closer to definitive agreements. For now, the proposal highlights a broader industry trend toward vertical integration, with Tether Investments signaling a deeper commitment to deploying Tether-derived profits into bitcoin-focused technology and infrastructure across the U.S. and global markets.