Jack Mallers, the CEO of Bitcoin treasury firm XXI Capital, has publicly broken with a core tenet of the corporate Bitcoin investment strategy, announcing the abandonment of the Bitcoin-per-share (BTC-per-share) metric. Mallers made the announcement on his podcast, The Jack Mallers Show, on January 19, framing the move as a response to evolving market demands.
"It’s become clear that the market wants a Bitcoin equity that can do things like get leverage and give maximal exposure to Bitcoin with cash flow without having to dilute common shareholders," Mallers stated. This declaration serves as a pointed critique of the model pioneered by Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy, the world's largest corporate Bitcoin holder.
The timing of Mallers' announcement is significant, coming shortly after MicroStrategy raised $2.1 billion to purchase more Bitcoin, with approximately 86% of that capital—$1.83 billion—coming from a dilutive issuance of over 10 million common shares. Mallers argued that such share issuances to fund Bitcoin acquisitions reduce the amount of Bitcoin allocated to each existing shareholder, even as the company's total holdings grow.
The broader Bitcoin treasury sector is facing headwinds. According to the reports, nearly 40% of such companies are trading below their net asset value (NAV), and more than 60% bought Bitcoin at prices higher than current market levels. MicroStrategy's stock fell 8% on the day of its capital raise announcement and is down 62% over the past six months.
XXI Capital, backed by financial heavyweights including Cantor Fitzgerald, Tether, and SoftBank, holds 43,514 BTC (worth roughly $3.8 billion), making it the third-largest corporate Bitcoin holder. Mallers said his firm will now focus on achieving "maximal exposure to Bitcoin with cash flow without having to dilute common shareholders," though he did not provide specific details on how this will be accomplished, promising clarity "when the timing is right."
Critics note that XXI Capital's own stock has performed poorly, dropping more than 70% in the past six months—a steeper decline than MicroStrategy's. Furthermore, the company has yet to launch a cash-generating business, despite promising to do so nine months prior.
