Tether Buys SoftBank Stake in Bitcoin Treasury Firm Twenty One Capital

Key Insights

• Tether deepens commitment to Bitcoin treasury firm XXI by acquiring SoftBank stake.
• The firm has expanded its payment capabilities to over 200,000 merchants
• USDT remains the largest stablecoin by market capitalization

Tether has acquired SoftBank’s stake in Bitcoin treasury company Twenty One Capital (XXI), increasing its control of the firm as competition among corporate Bitcoin holders intensifies.

The stablecoin issuer confirmed the transaction on Tuesday and said SoftBank representatives had stepped down from XXI’s board following the sale.

Tether Expands Control Over XXI

While the announcement did not say why SoftBank is divesting, Tether stated that the transaction shows its commitment to XXI and its Bitcoin strategy.

The firm is the second-largest bitcoin treasury company with 43,514 BTC. It was formed by Tether, Bitfinex, SoftBank, and Cantor Fitzgerald.

However, XXI has not really acquired more  Bitcoin since July 30 2025, compared to the biggest BTC treasury company, Strategy, which has been on a consistent buying spree.

Despite XXI’s relative quietness on the accumulation front, Tether stated that it has strong conviction in the company. It added that SoftBank has played a crucial role in the formation and early development of the company, given the firm’s track record.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that SoftBank’s early involvement gave XXI institutional depth that it will now build on.

Interestingly, Twenty One Capital saw a slight boost in its stock with XXI rising by 2.3% today. This might be due to Bitcoin itself climbing to $77,000 today. However, it remains significantly down from its peak of $47% back in April 2025 and has fallen 11% year to date.

Still, the gains might reflect investment sentiment about XXI’s future. Tether is pushing to expand the company’s Bitcoin operations through mergers with Strike and Elektron Capital.

These mergers, if successful, could turn XXI into more than a Bitcoin treasury company. Strike has Bitcoin payments and trading capacity, while Elektron has mining infrastructure and experience.

Tether Extends USDT Payment Capabilities to 200,000 Merchants

Meanwhile, the Bitcoin treasury play is only one of the many businesses that Tether has diversified into. Its central business remains the USDT stablecoin, which it continues to dominate.

According to DefiLama, USDT has a supply of $189.64 billion, representing 58.69% of the total supply. Its closest competitor is Circle USDC with $77 billion.

While USDT already has over 500 million users, Tether has continued to push for its adoption, especially among businesses and institutional users.

The company recently announced that a partnership between Lydian Pay and Shift4 will enable USDT payment capabilities for over 200,000 merchants. According to Tether, businesses will only need to upgrade their “Pay with Crypto” experience to opt in

Interestingly, the stablecoin issuer has also been pitching to DeFi protocols, citing compliance standards and prompt freezing of illicit funds. It recently became the native stablecoin for Solana-based Drift Protocol.

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