The Daily: Cantor Fitzgerald, SoftBank, Bitfinex and Tether unveil multi-billion Strategy-esque bitcoin venture Twenty One and more

The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter,  The Daily , which comes out on weekday afternoons.

Happy Wednesday! In the latest debacle following its role in Base's "coin everything" drama, Zora launched its token this morning and began trading without any official instructions on how to claim the airdrop — though it can still be done manually via the smart contract.

In today's newsletter, Cantor Fitzgerald, SoftBank, Bitfinex and Tether team up on a Strategy-esque bitcoin venture, spot Bitcoin ETFs see $936 million worth of daily inflows as its "safe haven" narrative strengthens, the SEC charges a crypto exec over an alleged $198 million fraud scheme and more.

Meanwhile, President Trump is set to host a gala for the top 220 TRUMP memecoin holders at a D.C. golf club.

Let's get started.

Cantor Fitzgerald, SoftBank, Bitfinex and Tether to launch multi-billion Strategy-esque bitcoin venture

Cantor Fitzgerald, currently led by the son of U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Tether, Bitfinex and SoftBank are teaming up to launch "bitcoin-native" public company Twenty One through a business combination with the SPAC Cantor Equity Partners at a $3.6 billion pro-forma enterprise value.

• Twenty One will launch with over 42,000 BTC , aiming to rival Michael Saylor's Strategy by maximizing bitcoin ownership rather than fiat earnings per share.
• Tether is set to contribute $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin to Twenty One, SoftBank will contribute $900 million in bitcoin, while Bitfinex plans to supply $600 million worth of the cryptocurrency, the Financial Times initially reported.
• The firms' bitcoin investments will eventually be converted into equity at a $10 per share valuation.
• Cantor Fitzgerald will also help Twenty One raise a further $385 million via convertible notes and $200 million through a private equity placement for additional bitcoin purchases.
• Jack Mallers will lead Twenty One as CEO, bringing his bitcoin-first ethos as the boss of payments app Strike to the public markets.
• Twenty One plans to build bitcoin-focused financial products and media content, pitching itself as a public stock "built by Bitcoiners, for Bitcoiners."

'Safe haven' Bitcoin ETFs see $936 million of inflows

Spot Bitcoin ETFs pulled in $936 million on Tuesday — the largest single-day inflow since Jan. 17 , reflecting growing conviction in bitcoin's rising "safe haven" appeal amid inflation, geopolitical risk and a weakening dollar, according to analysts.

• The positive flows were led by Ark Invest and 21Shares' ARKB, which added $267.1 million, closely followed by Fidelity's FBTC and BlackRock's IBIT with $253.8 million and $193.5 million, respectively.
• The U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have now added over $1.4 billion in the last three days alone and nearly $37 billion in cumulative net inflows since their launch in January last year.
• Looking ahead, further weakening of the U.S. dollar and dovish signals from the Federal Reserve will likely drive further strong inflows into the ETFs, Bitget COO Vugar Usi Zade said.

SEC charges crypto exec over alleged $198 million fraud scheme

The SEC has charged PGI Global founder Ramil Palafox with running an alleged $198 million crypto fraud scheme that used investor funds to buy Lamborghinis and other luxury items.

• Palafox allegedly promised guaranteed profits through crypto and forex trading but funneled over $57 million into personal expenses while using the remainder of the funds to pay earlier investors in a "Ponzi-like" system until it collapsed, the agency said.
• The SEC is seeking to ban Palafox from future securities or crypto activities and recover the alleged ill-gotten gains from him and associated parties.
• The case marks one of the first high-profile actions by the SEC's new Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit, launched to crack down on fraud in crypto and AI.

Symbiotic raises $29 million Series A

Symbiotic has raised $29 million in Series A funding to help expand from Ethereum-based restaking into a broader "universal staking" platform.

• Pantera Capital led the round with participation from Coinbase Ventures and more than 100 angel investors from crypto projects like Aave, Polygon and StarkWare.
• The protocol is designed to allow any network to secure itself using any asset — not just native tokens — unlocking modular security for Layer 1s, Layer 2s, oracles, bridges and more.
• Already live on 14 networks, Symbiotic plans to scale to over 35 as it also targets use cases beyond staking, including insurance and AI/ZK co-processing.

HEX founder Richard Heart declares 'SEC lost and crypto won'

The SEC has officially dropped its fraud case against HEX founder Richard Heart after exceeding its deadline to file an amended complaint following a District Court's earlier dismissal of the agency's claims for lacking U.S. jurisdiction.

• In 2023, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Heart, HEX, PulseChain and PulseX for raising over $1 billion from unregistered securities offerings. Heart and PulseChain were further charged with fraud for misappropriating proceeds to purchase luxury goods.
• Heart declared the outcome a victory for the open-source industry, stating, "The SEC lost and crypto won across the board."
• Despite the SEC's voluntary retreat, Heart remains on Europol's most wanted fugitives list for alleged fraud and tax evasion charges in Finland.

In the next 24 hours

• U.S. jobless claims data are due at 8:30 a.m. ET on Thursday.
• U.S. FOMC member Neel Kashkari speaks at 5 p.m.

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