Cantor Equity Partners Inc. shares surged 220% since the close of trading on April 22, a day before the company announced a merger with Twenty One Capital Inc., a company backed by Tether Holdings SA, Bitfinex, and SoftBank Group Corp.
This surge pushed the company's market valuation to about three times the value of the Bitcoin they would hold. By Friday afternoon local time, Cantor shares were trading at $33.99.
According to a presentation to investors, the deal includes a convertible bond offering, with a total diluted share count of 370.7 million shares.
At the current share price, the full market value of Twenty One is estimated to exceed $12 billion — far above the estimated value of Bitcoin they will own, around $4 billion based on an average price of $84,864 per BTC in the filing documents.
Interest in Cantor reflects the huge demand for Bitcoin investment "proxies" from both retail and institutional investors. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Bill Papanastasiou described this trend as a bet on the “fastest horse” for Bitcoin exposure.
After the merger, public SPAC shareholders are expected to own only 2.7% of the outstanding shares, with Tether holding 43%, Bitfinex 16%, SoftBank 24%, and Cantor affiliates 1.9%.
This phenomenon follows the successful path of MicroStrategy Inc. led by Michael Saylor, which bought Bitcoin in large quantities funded through convertible bonds and stock issuance.
“With the joining of these three major digital asset players, the market sees a huge opportunity,” said Papanastasiou.
