Cantor Fitzgerald, Tether, and SoftBank Team Up for $3B Bitcoin Mega-Play

Wall Street meets crypto—again. The investment giant partners with controversial stablecoin issuer Tether and ever-opportunistic SoftBank to launch a massive Bitcoin investment vehicle. Because nothing says ’institutional adoption’ like a $3 billion bet backed by the folks who brought you ’stablecoins of questionable transparency.’ Will this move legitimize Bitcoin further or just add fuel to the volatility fire? Either way, the suits are all-in now.

Cantor’s Bitcoin Push Led By Lutnick Heir as Firm Deepens Crypto Ties

Brandon Lutnick, who took over as chairman of Cantor Fitzgerald after his father Howard Lutnick joined the Trump administration as commerce secretary, is leading the effort. Under his leadership, the firm has increased its involvement in digital assets, advising on high-profile deals such as Tether’s $775m investment in video platform Rumble.

The vehicle will operate through Cantor Equity Partners, a special purpose acquisition company that raised $200m earlier this year. It will also issue a $350m convertible bond and raise an additional $200m through a private equity placement to expand its Bitcoin holdings. The strategy involves converting the Bitcoin contributions into shares of 21 Capital at a price of $10 each, with an internal valuation of $85,000 per Bitcoin.

While the parties are aiming to announce the deal in the coming weeks, the details are still subject to change. The final agreement could shift or fall through altogether.

Crypto Resurgence, Policy Tailwinds Draw Wall Street Deeper Into Bitcoin

The timing reflects a broader resurgence in institutional crypto investment. Bitcoin’s price soared to over $108,000 following Trump’s electoral victory in November and has since fluctuated, now sitting around $92,000. Despite volatility, the broader trend has attracted interest from firms seeking to replicate the gains of early adopters.

MicroStrategy, whose pivot to Bitcoin began in 2020, now carries a market capitalisation of more than $9b. Its model of raising equity and debt to accumulate Bitcoin has become a template for firms seeking to position themselves as crypto-native entities within public markets.

The new venture also comes with a degree of reputational risk. Tether and Bitfinex, both of which are owned by the same parent company, settled major investigations with US regulators in 2021. However, the Trump administration has promised a lighter regulatory touch for crypto, which may create a more favourable environment for such initiatives.