Tether-linked Three-Way Merger Scrapped; Strike Stays Independent

A proposed three-way merger to combine Tether-backed Twenty One Capital, Strike and Bitcoin miner Elektron Energy has been called off. Strike will continue to operate as an independent company, and Jack Mallers will step down as chief executive of Twenty One while remaining CEO of Strike.

The original plan had been to fold Strike into Twenty One and then merge the combined company into Elektron. Those consolidation plans have been abandoned, though talks between Twenty One and Elektron are continuing with no timetable disclosed.

Twenty One remains listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker XXI. Its shares were little changed in Tuesday premarket trading. Tether holds majority stakes in both Twenty One and Elektron, and that ownership shaped earlier merger proposals. Twenty One launched in 2025 with backing from Tether, Cantor Fitzgerald and SoftBank; Tether acquired SoftBank’s stake in May.

At the time of writing, Twenty One’s balance sheet included 43,514 bitcoin, making it the second-largest corporate holder of bitcoin after MicroStrategy according to publicly tracked holdings. That bitcoin position was a focal point in discussions about linking payments, custody and mining operations.

Strike, founded by Mallers as a bitcoin payments and infrastructure company, will continue under his leadership and maintain its current strategy and daily operations. Elektron Energy, where Tether also holds a controlling stake, remains in separate discussions with Twenty One; there has been no public confirmation of a new agreement.

The three-way proposal emerged earlier this year as part of consolidation activity in the crypto sector aimed at combining trading, custody, payments and mining functions. With the three-way plan shelved, Twenty One and Elektron may still pursue a partnership or transaction while Strike continues as a standalone payments company.