Binance Coin (BNB) has reached a new all-time high of $864, marking a major milestone for the cryptocurrency. The surge comes amid renewed momentum in the broader crypto market and strong activity within the Binance ecosystem. Increased adoption of Binance’s DeFi services, rising trading volumes, and positive market sentiment have fueled BNB’s rally. Analysts suggest continued strength could push the token higher, further cementing its role as a core asset in the digital currency space.
Welcome to the US Crypto News Morning Briefing—your essential rundown of the most important developments in crypto for the day ahead.
Grab a coffee to understand why the share price of Cantor Equity Partners Inc. (CEP) is seeing downside pressure while the share price of Strategy’s stock (MSTR) is increasing. CEP is the company behind 21 Capital, a newly established firm imitating Strategy’s Bitcoin model.
Crypto News of the Day: Max Keiser Issues 21 Capital Warning as CEP Shares Sink
Twenty One Capital’s ambitions to become the next major corporate Bitcoin player are under fire. The share price of its holding company, Cantor Equity Partners Inc., is bearing the brunt of overhead pressure.
The CEP stock price is down by over 6% in the last five trading days. Meanwhile, the share price of its market rival, Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), is up by over 7%.
Headed by James Mallers, Twenty One Capital presented as Strategy’s inadvertent market rival, or peer. It introduced BTC-native metrics like Bitcoin Per Share (BPS), effectively challenging Strategy’s model, where investors have indirect exposure to Bitcoin through MSTR stock.
In a recent US Crypto News publication, Bitcoin pioneer Max Keiser said institutions must “Saylorize” or die. Nevertheless, despite Twenty One Capital extending the “Saylorization” trend, the CEP stock price continues to endure downward pressure while Strategy’s stock price is gaining.
Against this backdrop, investors hoped that hype around Cantor Equity Partners Inc.’s planned SPAC merger could reverse the trend, but this appears to be false hope. Notably, the merger would see CEP stock listed under the new ticker XXI.
“Cantor Equity Partners (CEP) announced a merger with bitcoin treasury company Twenty One Capital in a $3.6 billion merger,” reports indicated.
The announcement propelled shares of the SPAC vehicle, Cantor Equity Partners (CEP), sharply higher, but now momentum is fading.
Investors who hoped for a post-merger rally have watched the stock drift downward toward the mid-$20s over the past five days.
BeInCrypto contacted Max Keiser for insights into why this is happening, with the Bitcoin maxi blaming it on Twenty One Capital’s model mimicking Strategy.
Mimicking Strategy Could Be Detrimental, Max Keiser Says
According to Max Keiser, Twenty One Capital’s attempt to mimic Strategy could prove far riskier and less effective.
“There’s a big difference between a company with a Bitcoin treasury strategy and a Bitcoin strategy company,” Keiser told BeInCrypto.
Keiser says Strategy is leveraging its heft as a company with lots of Bitcoin, harnessing volatility to buy more BTC. However, Cantor Equity Partners Inc. or Twenty One Capital does not meet that standard.
“CEP is a company that is looking to buy lots of Bitcoin, which is very volatile. I question if they can effectively harness that volatility like Strategy does,” he added.
Twenty One Capital is the third-largest corporate Bitcoin holder after Strategy and Bitcoin mining firm MARA Holdings. Data on Bitcoin Treasuries shows Strategy holds 568,840 BTC, while MARA holds 48,237 Bitcoin tokens.
Meanwhile, after Tether acquired 4,812.2 Bitcoin (now held in an escrow wallet as Twenty One Capital prepares to complete a SPAC merger with Cantor Equity Partners), Twenty One Capital holds 36,312 Bitcoin tokens.
Corporate Bitcoin holders by portfolio size. Source: Bitcoin Treasuries.
In the interview with BeInCrypto, Keiser articulated that trying to copy Strategy’s model without the infrastructure, discipline, or scale puts 21 Capital in a precarious position.
“A Bitcoin strategy company is inherently riskier, with no clear path to be as competitive as Strategy in leveraging market volatility to capture more Bitcoin,” he stated.
Further, despite the surge in interest from investors hoping to jump on what appeared to be the “next big BTC play, Keiser believes the long-term winner is already clear.
“Ultimately, the big winner will continue to be Strategy, with dozens of knock-offs trying to catch them, failing to generate the same returns, but increasing demand for Bitcoin substantially. That ends up benefiting STRATEGY proportionately more than the knock-offs, with less risk,” he concluded.
This aligns with a sentiment from Steven Lubka, the Head of Swan Private Wealth. As BeInCrypto noted in one of the US Crypto News publications, Lubka said the inadvertent competition between Twenty One Capital and Strategy will ultimately bode well for Strategy.
“Ironically, someone throwing the gauntlet at Microstrategy, ‘we want to become the most successful company in Bitcoin, ‘ Only makes Microstrategy more valuable,” Lubka remarked.
Charts of the Day
Strategy’s MSTR stock price performance. Source: Google Finance
This chart shows Strategy Inc.’s stock price rose by $28.61 or 7.28% over the past five days, closing at $421.61 on May 14.
Cantor Equity Partners (CEP) stock price performance. Source: Google Finance
This chart shows a 5-day decline in Cantor Equity Partners Inc.’s stock price, down by 6.22% since May 7. CEP closed at $29.84 on Tuesday and is attempting a slight pre-market recovery.
Byte-Sized Alpha
Here’s a summary of more US crypto news to follow today:
Bitcoin (BTC) price has dropped below $120,000 after hitting an all-time high of $123,091 earlier today. The decline in BTC price follows fresh geopolitical tension as U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose 100% tariffs on Russia within 50 days if the war with Ukraine does not stop. BTC Price Pulls Back After Reaching All-Time
Ethereum may face downward pressure in August, as the institutional and whale support that fueled its rally to a July peak of $3,800 appears to be retreating.
With bearish sentiment silently mounting across the broader crypto market, the leading altcoin now faces a tougher climb back toward the $4,000 mark.
ETH Futures Sink to $6.2 Billion: Institutional Confidence Losing Steam?
On-chain and derivatives data show a recent trend of decline in activity among the market’s biggest players. For example, open interest in ETH futures contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has fallen sharply, closing yesterday at a five-day low of $6.2 billion.
For token TA and market updates: Want more token insights like this? Sign up for Editor Harsh Notariya’s Daily Crypto Newsletter here.
This drop is notable, as CME’s ETH futures market is primarily used by institutional players seeking regulated exposure to the asset. Therefore, lower open interest signals these investors may be scaling back their ETH positions.
Without continued institutional engagement, the upward pressure on ETH’s price may weaken, increasing the likelihood of short-term corrections.
In addition, whale activity is also tapering off. A review of the coin’s on-chain activity reveals a 339% dip in its large holders’ netflow over the past seven days.
Large holders are whale addresses that hold more than 1% of an asset’s circulating supply. Their netflow tracks the difference between the coins they buy and the amount they sell over a specific period.
When an asset’s large holders’ netflow increases, more tokens or coins flow into major investors’ wallets than are flowing out. This trend indicates that these holders are accumulating the asset, signaling confidence in its future value.
Conversely, when it plunges, it marks a cooling in high-conviction accumulation, weakening short-term price support.
Ethereum Tanks 10% as Selling Pressure Surges—Is $3,314 Next?
At press time, ETH trades at $3,620, down nearly 10% over the past day. During that period, its trading volume rocketed by 17%, creating a negative divergence. This divergence emerges when rising trading activity coincides with falling prices, signaling intensified selling pressure.
If this continues, ETH’s price could fall to $3,524. A breach below this key support floor could lead to a deeper decline to $3,314.
