Twenty One Capital Inc. (NYSE:XXI) stock plunged nearly 10% Tuesday following a major leadership shakeup and the collapse of a proposed three-way merger designed to build a unified Bitcoin platform.
Leadership Change And Merger Collapse
Founder and Chief Executive Officer Jack Mallers stepped down after board disagreements over corporate strategy, handing leadership to Wall Street veteran Raphael Zagury.
Coinciding with the leadership shift, the company’s planned combination with payments platform Strike and Bitcoin miner Elektron Energy was officially terminated.
Strategy Shift Raises Investor Concerns
Investor sentiment appeared to weaken following several changes to the company’s original strategy. Jack Mallers resigned as CEO to focus full-time on Strike, the Bitcoin payments network he co-founded, while Strike will remain an independent company instead of joining Twenty One, removing its transaction network from the company’s planned Bitcoin-native platform.
Investors also face uncertainty over a potential acquisition of Elektron Energy, which remains at a preliminary stage with no assurance a deal will be completed. Any transaction would also be subject to heightened scrutiny because new CEO Raphael Zagury co-founded and leads Elektron, requiring related-party review and board approval.
Raphael Zagury Brings Wall Street Experience
Zagury, whose appointment took effect July 20, previously served as an independent director and interim Audit Committee chair for Twenty One. He resigned from his committee roles to take the chief executive position but remains on the board.
Before joining Twenty One, Zagury held senior positions at Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch. He also co-founded boutique firm One Partners, Brazilian lender OpenCo and Elektron Energy.
Twenty One Refocuses On Institutional Bitcoin Strategy
Under Zagury, Twenty One is shifting its strategy away from the previously proposed combination with Strike and toward building an institutional Bitcoin operating company focused on cash flow and disciplined capital allocation.
“Twenty One holds one of the largest Bitcoin balance sheets in the public markets,” Zagury said. “My job is to build the operating company around it, with the discipline, governance, and executional rigor of an institution.”
Moving forward, the company plans to prioritize positive cash flow, disciplined capital allocation, Bitcoin-backed financial products and corporate lending.
Twenty One Capital Price Action
XXI Stock Price Activity: Twenty One Capital shares were down 9.78% at $4.80 at the time of publication on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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