US Commerce Secretary’s Son Leads $3 Billion Bitcoin Venture with SoftBank, Tether, and Bitfinex

Monicah W

According to the latest reports from the Financial Times, Cantor Fitzgerald, a financial services company led by Brandon Lutnick, son of US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, is working with SoftBank, Tether, and Bitfinex to form a Bitcoin (BTC) investment vehicle with a scale of over $3 billion.

This initiative comes amid a recovery rally in BTC, which has seen notable gains over the past day.

Is Cantor Fitzgerald Trying to Replicate Strategy’s Bitcoin Success?

Financial Times, citing sources close to the matter, revealed that Lutnick’s special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), Cantor Equity Partner, raised $200 million in January. The money will fund the creation of a new firm named 21 Capital.

The cryptocurrency companies involved in the initiative are contributing large sums of Bitcoin to 21 Capital. Stablecoin giant Tether will contribute $1.5 billion worth of BTC. Meanwhile, the Bitfinex exchange will contribute $600 million, and SoftBank, the Japanese multinational investment firm, will provide $900 million. 

This brings the total Bitcoin contribution from the partners to $3 billion. Furthermore, the move also highlights SoftBank’s increased interest in the cryptocurrency space. 

“Masayoshi Son’s biggest Bitcoin bet yet,” VanEck’s Matthew Sigel noted on X.

The cryptocurrency investments will be converted into shares of 21 Capital at $10 per share, with Bitcoin valued at $85,000 per coin. In addition to the partner contributions, the SPAC plans to raise further funds through a $350 million convertible bond and a $200 million private equity placement to acquire additional Bitcoin.

“While the deal was likely to be announced in the coming weeks, it could still fail to materialise, and the numbers could change, the people cautioned,” FT wrote.

The initiative aims to emulate the success of the largest corporate holder of BTC, Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy). The firm has been acquiring BTC since 2020, amassing a total of 538,200 coins worth $50.14 billion at press time, according to SaylorTracker. The company holds an unrealized profit of approximately 39.8%.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin, the initiative’s centerpiece, has seen a significant recovery recently. As BeInCrypto reported earlier, the largest cryptocurrency surged past the $90,000 mark for the first time in seven weeks. Over the past day, it rose by 5.3% to trade at $92,862.

BTC Price Performance
BTC Price Performance. Source: BeInCrypto

“You start to think that Bitcoin is rallying as a sound money store of value inflation hedge but the market gods have a sick sense of humor and it turns out it was just a cantor/softbank/tether MSTR 2.0 all along,” an analyst posted on X.

As the consortium moves forward, its success will likely depend on Bitcoin’s long-term performance and the broader regulatory outlook for cryptocurrencies.

The post US Commerce Secretary’s Son Leads $3 Billion Bitcoin Venture with SoftBank, Tether, and Bitfinex appeared first on BeInCrypto.

Related Posts

ECB Wants to Change MiCA Rules, Citing Risks from Trump’s Pro-Crypto Shift

The European Central Bank (ECB) and European Commission are having a public dispute over MiCA and stablecoin regulation. The ECB believes that restrictions aren’t harsh enough, fearing US firms dominating the market.

The Commission disputed the ECB’s fears, alleging that it’s building up stablecoin-related fears to promote a controversial digital euro program. There are already signs of European irrelevance to Web3, and more restrictions likely wouldn’t help.

ECB Thinks MiCA is Too Lenient

MiCA only took effect four months ago, but the ECB is already having serious second thoughts. According to a recent report, it is concerned about the relative competitiveness of USD stablecoins, which may take over the European market.

As one commentator, Mikko Ohtamaa, put it, it has good reasons to worry about the future:

“The EU had the first mover advantage with the regulation and they screwed it up. No EU stablecoin is internationally competitive because the inherited business unfriendliness that was baked into the MiCA by the lobbying efforts of banks and other legacy financial institutions,” he claimed via social media.

Since the EU first approached the topic of stablecoin regulations, it has profoundly impacted the region’s market. After MiCA took effect, Tether left the European market altogether.

Most recently, Ethena Labs, too, pulled out of Europe after failing to get MiCA approval. These firms had no such problems in the US.

In an interesting twist, the ECB’s concern is not that MiCA is too harsh, thereby preventing innovation. As Politico claimed, it instead worries that existing regulations aren’t strong enough.

Instead, it acknowledged President Trump’s stated goal to use stablecoins to promote dollar dominance and fears that US assets could flood European markets. It wants to fight back head-on.

This is at the heart of the controversy between these EU institutions. The European Commission reacted with hostility to the ECB’s proposed MiCA changes.

Apparently, the Commission claimed that some of its specific concerns were “nonsense,” and suggested that it was merely continuing to push for the controversial digital euro.

That is, it seems that most EU institutions are satisfied with existing stablecoin regulations. Besides, if the ECB gets its proposed MiCA reforms, would that even matter?

The crypto markets reacted with shocking ambivalence to its recent rate cuts. Europe is in danger of falling behind in the global Web3 economy, and more restrictions aren’t likely to help.

The post ECB Wants to Change MiCA Rules, Citing Risks from Trump’s Pro-Crypto Shift appeared first on BeInCrypto.

Circle’s USDC Becomes First Stablecoin Approved for Use in Japan

Circle’s USDC (USDC) has become the first and only stablecoin officially approved for use in Japan’s regulated financial market. This marks a significant step toward mainstream adoption of the stablecoin in one of Asia’s largest economies.

This move follows shortly after the Philippines’ leading digital wallet, GCash, added support for the dollar-backed coin.

SBI Holdings and Circle Bring USDC to Japan

In the latest press release, the company revealed a strategic joint venture with SBI Holdings, a major Japanese financial conglomerate. The partnership will see SBI VC Trade, a cryptocurrency exchange under SBI Holdings, launch USDC trading on March 26, 2025. 

Other prominent exchanges, including Binance Japan, Bitbank, and BitFlyer, are set to follow suit, further expanding USDC’s reach in the region. The approval comes after SBI VC Trade secured regulatory clearance from the Japan Financial Services Agency (JFSA) on March 4, 2025.

Circle’s expansion into Japan through its local entity, Circle Japan KK, signals growing institutional confidence in USDC’s reliability and utility. By integrating USDC into Japan’s digital finance ecosystem, Circle aims to provide secure solutions for payments, settlements, and treasury operations, potentially setting a precedent for stablecoin adoption globally.

Jeremy Allaire, Co-founder and CEO of Circle, celebrated the achievement in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).

“We have spent 2+ years engaging with Japan’s regulators, major industry players, strategic partners, banking partners, and others to enable USDC for the Japanese market, which unlocks tremendous opportunities not just in trading digital assets but more broadly in payments, cross-border finance and commerce, FX and more,” Allaire stated.

The launch highlights Japan’s forward-thinking approach to blockchain technology and digital finance. The country has been at the forefront of Web3 adoption, with clear regulations on stablecoins already in place.

Yoshitaka Kitao, President and CEO of SBI Holdings, stressed that Circle’s entry into Japan will enhance financial accessibility and drive innovation in the digital economy.

“We believe this initiative will enhance financial accessibility and drive digital asset innovation, aligning with our broader vision for the future of payments and blockchain-based finance in Japan,” Kitao said.

This development comes as USDC continues to experience significant global growth. According to Circle’s 2025 report, the stablecoin’s monthly trading volume hit $1 trillion in November 2024. Moreover, its all-time trading volume surpassed $18 trillion. 

That’s not all. USDC’s circulation grew by 78% year-over-year. The report also shed lights on USDC’s expanded accessibility to more than 500 million user wallets worldwide. Circle expects this growth to continue in 2025. 

“Beyond the US dollar’s preeminent role in trade, payments, and global finance, three factors are poised to accelerate the adoption and utility of USDC. First, legal and regulatory clarity; second, the scalability of new blockchain networks; and third, superior UX,” the report added.

The post Circle’s USDC Becomes First Stablecoin Approved for Use in Japan appeared first on BeInCrypto.