The highly anticipated New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) debut of Twenty One Capital, a prominent Bitcoin-native firm, was met with immediate market skepticism, signaling a potential turning point for crypto-linked equities. This challenging entry into public markets underscores a growing disconnect between the perceived value of digital assets and investor confidence in companies holding them on their balance sheets.
A Rocky Start and Valuation Paradox
Trading under the ticker XXI, Twenty One Capital, backed by industry giants like Tether and SoftBank, saw its shares plunge by nearly 20% on its first day following a SPAC merger with Cantor Equity Partners. This sharp decline created a stark valuation paradox: while CEO Jack Mallers emphasized the company's focus on "utility services" beyond simple Bitcoin accumulation, the market priced the equity at a significant discount to its substantial Bitcoin treasury, which Reuters calculated to be worth over $3.97 billion. This conservative valuation highlights Wall Street's deep caution towards crypto-linked vehicles, especially amidst a period where Bitcoin has seen significant price corrections.
Scrutiny on Digital Asset Treasuries Deepens
Twenty One Capital's difficult debut is not an isolated incident but rather indicative of broader pressures facing the entire Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) sector. Market observers are now placing renewed emphasis on the 'mNAV' metric (market value relative to raw crypto holdings), with experts noting it's becoming increasingly challenging for DATs to raise capital without demonstrating material differentiation. The struggles mirror those of other Bitcoin-centric firms like Metaplanet, which paused Bitcoin purchases and sought credit lines due to a sub-1x mNAV, and Strategy, which raised substantial equity to manage liquidity amid market volatility. These events collectively suggest that the market's initial honeymoon with the leveraged "Bitcoin Treasury" model may be drawing to a close, demanding greater fundamental value and less reliance on pure asset accumulation from public companies in the crypto space.
