Bitcoin Buzz Sends Cantor Equity Flying Ahead of Twenty One Capital Merger

Cantor Equity Partners (CEP) is on a tear, jumping 55% Tuesday and climbing another 15% in early pre-market trading, as Wall Street scrambles to price in its blockbuster merger with Bitcoin powerhouse Twenty One Capital.

The proposed deal transforms CEP into a publicly traded gateway to Bitcoin, fueled by over $4 billion in BTC and backed by crypto titans Tether and Bitfinex, alongside SoftBank. The venture is being led by Strike CEO Jack Mallers and Brandon Lutnick, and is designed to act as a Bitcoin-native investment platform.

Once merged, the new entity will debut metrics like Bitcoin Per Share (BPS) and Bitcoin Return Rate (BRR), giving investors a direct line to BTC performance. With more than 42,000 BTC expected at launch and Bitcoin trading near $94,000, the upside narrative is drawing massive attention.

Ownership will heavily favor insiders—Tether will hold 42.8% of equity and over half the voting power, with Bitfinex and SoftBank taking meaningful slices as well. Public shareholders, meanwhile, will control just 2.7%, highlighting both the dilution and the high-stakes leverage tied to Bitcoin’s price.

Set to trade under the ticker “XXI,” the post-merger entity is quickly becoming a magnet for traders seeking the next big Bitcoin proxy on the public markets.