Jack Mallers has stepped down as CEO of Twenty One Capital (NYSE: XXI), effective immediately, to focus full-time on Strike, the Bitcoin payments company he founded. Board member Raphael Zagury, CEO of Elektron Energy, has been named as his successor.

The leadership change comes alongside the collapse of a proposed three-way merger between Twenty One Capital, Strike, and Elektron Energy, first floated by Tether in April. Strike will remain an independent company, while a potential two-way combination between Twenty One and Elektron remains under preliminary evaluation.

Twenty One holds roughly 43,514 BTC (~$2.8B), making it the second-largest public Bitcoin treasury, and is backed by Tether, Bitfinex, Cantor Fitzgerald, and SoftBank.

The transition marks a strategic pivot for Twenty One, which now says it will prioritize cash-flow generation and disciplined capital allocation, building out an institutional-grade operating company around its Bitcoin balance sheet rather than being judged on holdings alone.