Jack Mallers Exits Twenty One Capital as $2.9B Bitcoin Treasury Gets New Leadership
Jack Mallers stepped down as chief executive of Twenty One Capital effective July 20, and the board named director Raphael Zagury as his replacement.
Mallers co-founded the company and led it through its December 2025 debut on the New York Stock Exchange via a merger with Cantor Equity Partners. The firm was built around a large bitcoin treasury, positioning itself as a bitcoin-native alternative to traditional corporate structures.
“I’ve decided to step down as CEO of Twenty One,” Mallers wrote on X. “My life’s work remains bitcoin. My bitcoin company is Strike. The work continues.”
Mallers is returning full-time to Strike, the bitcoin payments company he leads. He and Zagury are working together on the handoff.
The leadership change coincided with the collapse of a proposed three-way merger between Twenty One Capital, Strike, and Elektron Energy, the bitcoin mining firm Zagury founded. The idea was first raised on April 29, 2026. Strike will now remain independent. A possible combination with Elektron is still under review, though any such deal would require approval as a related person transaction under Texas law due to Zagury’s ties to both firms.
Zagury spent years on Wall Street, holding roles at Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, and Merrill Lynch before co-founding investment bank One Partners and Brazilian fintech lender OpenCo. He had already served as an independent director at Twenty One Capital and as interim chair of its audit committee.
“My job is to build the operating company around it, with the discipline, governance, and executional rigor of an institution,” Zagury said, referring to the company’s bitcoin balance sheet.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, who sits on Twenty One’s board, thanked Mallers for his vision and leadership in guiding the company through its business combination and NYSE listing.
Twenty One Capital holds 43,514 BTC, the second-largest corporate bitcoin treasury behind Strategy. At current prices, the holding is worth close to $2.9 billion, against a cost basis near $3.69 billion.
The company disclosed five priorities going forward: corporate governance, building operating businesses, expanding capital markets activity, disciplined acquisitions, and a bitcoin-backed lending platform.
Shares of XXI (NYSE: XXI) fell on July 21, trading in the $4.60 to $5.40 range intraday. The stock has traded well below its 2025 peak of around $47 and remains highly tied to bitcoin’s price and investor sentiment. Shares are down 53% from the peak, with about 45% of those losses from the past six months.
The company’s next earnings report is expected in early August, when investors will look for more details on the Elektron discussions and how Zagury plans to turn the bitcoin treasury into a cash-generating business.