Twenty One Capital's highly anticipated debut on the New York Stock Exchange ended with a sharp sell-off, highlighting growing investor restraint toward Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC)-heavy public companies.
Trading under the ticker XXI, the stock fell by almost 20% on its first day, defying expectations fuelled by its sizeable Bitcoin treasury and prominent institutional backers.
The company went public through a merger with Cantor Equity Partners, a special-purpose acquisition company, a route that has faced increasing scepticism in recent years.
Shares opened at $10.74 following the SPAC conversion, well below Cantor Equity Partners’ previous close of $14.27.
By the end of the first trading session on 9 December 2025, the stock had settled at around $11.96, marking a decline of roughly 19.97%.
Twenty One Capital positions itself as a Bitcoin-native public company aiming to become the largest publicly traded corporate holder of the cryptocurrency.
At launch, the firm disclosed holdings of more than 43,500 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $3.9 billion to $4.0 billion at prevailing prices.
The company is backed by major institutions including Cantor Fitzgerald, Tether, Bitfinex and SoftBank, giving it one of the strongest balance sheets among Bitcoin-focused listings.
Jack Mallers, a co-founder of the firm and founder of Strike, has described the company as an effort to build Bitcoin-aligned financial infrastructure rather than a passive treasury vehicle.
Despite these ambitions, the market reaction suggested investors were unwilling to assign a premium beyond the value of the underlying Bitcoin holdings.
The stock traded close to its multiple-to-net-asset-value, signalling a collapse in the mNAV premium that Bitcoin treasury firms once enjoyed.
Historically, similar companies have traded at significant premiums during bullish market cycles, reflecting confidence in management and future growth.
In Twenty One Capital's case, the lack of a meaningful premium implied the market viewed the shares largely as a direct proxy for Bitcoin price movements.
Broader crypto market volatility also weighed on sentiment, with Bitcoin having fallen more than 28% from its October peak ahead of the listing.
The debut occurred amid a wider cooling of enthusiasm for SPAC-led public offerings, particularly in the digital asset sector.
Many investors remain wary after a pattern of post-merger underperformance among crypto-related SPACs over recent years.
Analysts cited by Reuters have warned that it is becoming “harder for DATs to raise capital,” adding that firms “need to show material differentiation” to justify higher valuations.
The absence of a detailed, revenue-generating business roadmap at the time of listing may have further dampened demand for the stock.
Market participants increasingly appear to favour companies with proven cash flows rather than those built primarily around asset accumulation.
The first-day slide in XXI may signal a broader shift in public market expectations for Bitcoin-backed equities going into 2026.
At the time of reporting, Bitcoin price was $89,057.54.