In a significant corporate Bitcoin portfolio shift, Twenty One Capital, the investment firm led by Jack Mallers, has ascended to become the second-largest publicly traded holder of Bitcoin (BTC) globally. This move follows a major divestment by cryptocurrency miner MARA, which sold off a substantial portion of its treasury.
According to data from BitcoinTreasuries, Twenty One Capital now holds 43,514 BTC in its corporate treasury, valued at over $2.9 billion at current market prices. The firm achieved its new ranking after MARA sold 15,133 BTC (worth approximately $1.1 billion) throughout March 2026 to service debt. This sale dropped MARA to the third position among public company BTC holders.
Twenty One Capital was publicly listed in late 2025 following a business combination with Cantor Equity Partners, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Its shares now trade on the NYSE under the ticker XXI, though they are down more than 25% year-to-date.
Bitcoin Treasuries analyst Tyler Rowe provided commentary on the strategic implications. “For the industry, it's a cautionary signal,” Rowe stated. “MARA borrowed aggressively to stack sats during the bull run and is now selling Bitcoin at a loss to service that debt. This is the precise scenario critics of debt-fueled treasury strategies have warned about.” He contrasted this with the model popularized by MicroStrategy, which treats BTC as “perpetual digital credit,” using it as collateral to finance further acquisitions.
The transaction was executed via over-the-counter (OTC) desks, a standard practice for large institutional transfers to minimize market impact. The landscape of major public holders is now led by MicroStrategy with 762,099 BTC, followed by Twenty One Capital, and then Metaplanet with 35,100 BTC.
Market observers interpret this shift as a potential sign of capitulation among some crypto treasury and mining companies, exacerbated by a bear market that began in October 2025 and declining share prices. Analysts from venture firm Breed had forecasted in June 2025 that only a few crypto treasury companies would survive a “death spiral” of contracting market net asset values (mNAVs).
Deng Chao, CEO of HashKey Capital, noted the divergence in strategies: “Companies that treat their crypto holdings as a speculative bet, rather than a long-term play, were likely to capitulate between cycles.” He added that firms with disciplined treasury strategies are positioned to endure multiple market cycles.
