Key takeaways

• Twenty One Capital’s debut on the New York Stock Exchange saw a decline of nearly 20%, indicating cautious investor sentiment towards Bitcoin-heavy public listings.

• XXI traded close to its net asset value, suggesting that the market has not assigned a significant premium beyond the value of the company’s Bitcoin holdings.

• The decline reflects broader market pressures, including Bitcoin volatility, fading enthusiasm for SPAC-backed listings and weak mNAV premiums.

• The muted reaction suggests that investors may now expect Bitcoin-focused companies to demonstrate clear and durable revenue models rather than relying primarily on large Bitcoin holdings.

The public debut of Twenty One Capital, a closely watched Bitcoin-focused firm, on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) was met with cautious sentiment from investors. Trading under the symbol XXI, the company’s shares fell nearly 20% on its first day.

This article explores what the market reaction may indicate about shifting investor demand, the erosion of the mNAV premium, and the broader scrutiny facing Bitcoin-backed equity listings.

What actually is Twenty One Capital?

Twenty One Capital is an institutionally backed public Bitcoin company with a stated ambition of becoming the largest publicly traded holder of Bitcoin (BTC). The company went public through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) deal with Cantor Equity Partners and began trading under the ticker XXI.

At launch, the company reported a treasury of over 43,500 Bitcoin, worth approximately $3.9 billion – $4.0 billion, making it among the largest corporate holders of Bitcoin.

The company was built with a clear focus: a corporate structure that puts Bitcoin at the center of its strategy. Its founders and supporters position it as more than just a treasury tool. Twenty One aims to build an institutional infrastructure for financial products that are compatible with Bitcoin, said Jack Mallers, who also founded Strike.

This model places Twenty One alongside other digital asset treasuries (DATs), but with key differences. Its supporters include Cantor Fitzgerald, a lead trader at the Federal Reserve; Tether, the issuer of USDt (USDT) and the primary holder of US Treasuries; Bitfinex and Softbank. These institutional relationships position Twenty One as one of the most popular publicly listed Bitcoin-backed companies.

The company arrives amid a broader wave of publicly traded companies pursuing bitcoin-centric strategies, inspired in part by the scaling model used by Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy). However, Twenty One’s stated intention is not to simply replicate this approach but to pursue revenue-led growth while maintaining a large Bitcoin reserve.

The first appearance and a sharp drop in prices

Given the size of its treasury and profile of backers, many market participants expected strong interest around the launch of Twenty One. However, the first day of trading on December 9, 2025 achieved a different result. The stock fell sharply despite the company’s large Bitcoin holdings and high-level institutional support.

When Cantor Equity Partners’ SPAC stock turned XXI, the new stock opened at $10.74, below the previous SPAC’s close of $14.27. After-hours trading showed only a modest rebound. By the end of the first day of trading, shares had fallen approximately 19.97%, settling at $11.96.

This performance underscored the broader trend in which newly listed cryptocurrency-related companies often trade below pre-merger benchmarks. The move also left the new public stock trading at a discount compared to its underlying cryptocurrency holdings, suggesting that the valuation dynamics for this type of stock may be changing.

Cautious investors and the Twenty One segment of the New York Stock Exchange

The sharp decline in Twenty One Capital’s stock price was not unique to the company. It reflects the convergence of three market factors in late 2025:

• Erosion of multiple value premium to net assets (mNAV).

• Continued volatility in cryptocurrency markets

• Weaker sentiment towards SPAC-led public debut.

Understanding silent mNAV assessment

The clearest sign of market caution was that the stock was not trading at a significant premium to the value of its underlying Bitcoin holdings. This is usually assessed using the mNAV ratio.

Historically, Bitcoin treasuries have commanded a high premium to their asset value (mNAV) at points in past market cycles. This premium is often interpreted as a sign of investors’ confidence in management’s ability to create value beyond the underlying assets.

However, Twenty One Capital traded at or near the value of its assets, effectively allocating little or no premium to its business plans or management. This suggests that the market was largely valuing the stock as a direct and potentially volatile proxy for Bitcoin rather than pricing it at a premium operating premium.

Market Volatility and SPAC Sentiment

Twenty One Capital debuted during a challenging period for both the cryptocurrency market and SPAC-based listings. In the run-up to its debut, cryptocurrencies faced selling pressure. Bitcoin has fallen more than 28% from its peak in October, creating a risk-off climate as investors were less willing to assign generous valuations to cryptocurrency-related stocks.

The merger with Cantor Equity Partners was a SPAC-driven path to going public. While the prospect of a deal had previously sent SPAC stocks sharply higher, by late 2025, enthusiasm for high-profile cryptocurrency SPACs had waned. A long record of post-merger underperformance has contributed to investor fatigue and skepticism, which can push newly listed companies to trade below pre-merger levels.

Did you know? Stocks trading at less than the value of a Bitcoin treasury is an example of a valuation paradox, where new public shares trade at a discount to the market value of the initial liquid assets they hold.

Market transformation: Demand for proven business models

Another reason for investors’ caution may be the lack of a clear, proven, revenue-generating operating model at the time of its debut. This suggests that some investors may be moving away from pure “Bitcoin treasury” narratives and focusing more on differentiation and predictable cash flows.

Twenty One Capital went public with significant Bitcoin holdings, but without a detailed, publicly available business plan or firm timeline. The debut also came during a period of heightened scrutiny for the digital asset treasury sector.

According to Reuters, analysts point out that it has become “difficult for DATs to raise capital” and that companies “need to demonstrate material differentiation” to justify their trading multiples.

The sharp decline in XXI stock price may indicate that the market perspective is evolving. Some investors may shift their focus toward a company’s ability to implement a sustainable business model alongside its assets. Public markets may increasingly prioritize companies that can generate predictable cash flows rather than those that primarily own Bitcoin.