Arizona’s State Legislature just passed Bitcoin reserve bills SB1025 and SB1373. They now approach the final hurdle: the governor’s approval to become law.
Both bills won by comfortable margins and will only require the governor’s signature to become law. Governor Katie Hobbs recently ended a vow to veto all bills over a funding dispute, hopefully securing the Reserve’s future.
“Arizona passes second Bitcoin Reserve bill. SB 1373 passed 37-19! Both Reserve bills to Governor Hobbs’ desk for signature,” a crypto-related policy watchdog claimed.
According to SB1025’s text, it will enable Arizona to spend up to 10% of its public funds on Bitcoin or other unspecified digital assets. This funding requirement mirrors South Carolina’s bill, which also mandated a 10% maximum.
Now that SB1025 has passed a third reading, Governor Hobbs is the only thing separating Arizona from a Bitcoin Reserve.
Recently, she has been vetoing all proposed legislation in a bid to secure funding for Arizona’s Division of Developmental Disabilities. Less than a week ago, she ended this standoff, hopefully allowing her to sign these bills into law.
Arizona’s spending cap may deflate some Bitcoin enthusiasts’ hopes, but it’s still a victory. Amidst the microeconomic challenges, it’s a win for the industry if state-level acquisitions of any size pass.
ARIZONA JUST BECAME THE FIRST STATE IN THE NATION TO PASS STRATEGIC BITCOIN RESERVE LEGISLATION IN THE HOUSE AND SENATE.
Meanwhile, Trump’s Strategic Crypto Reserve intends to preserve an existing stockpile but doesn’t acquire BTC. Nonetheless, it’s a bullish development that helped build market enthusiasm.
If Arizona does pass the bill, it will likely increase Bitcoin’s demand and drive more bullish optimism. New Hampshire and Texas are also trailing Arizona’s lead, as both states are awaiting a Senate vote on their bills.
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:
The rollout will simplify international money transfers and trade flows, especially between Kyrgyzstan, neighboring Central Asian countries, and members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
“This Memorandum of Understanding represents a shared vision for leveraging blockchain technology to create sustainable economic opportunities, improve financial inclusion, and advance the freedom of money in Kyrgyzstan,” Kyrylo Khomiakov, Regional Head of CEE, Central Asia, and Africa at Binance, said.
Beyond crypto payments, the initiative prioritizes public education. Binance Academy will collaborate with the Investment Agency to develop financial literacy programs tailored to both institutions and everyday citizens.
These efforts aim to equip Kyrgyzstan residents with the knowledge needed to navigate digital assets and Web3 technologies.
The educational programs will cover a range of topics, from basic crypto awareness to more advanced digital finance concepts.
According to the exchange, this move is part of a larger plan to empower local entrepreneurs and foster innovation within the country’s tech sector.
Farhat Iminov, head of the National Investment Agency, described the partnership as a forward-thinking step toward building a robust digital finance ecosystem.
He emphasized the importance of establishing a solid framework for crypto adoption and improving access to financial knowledge.
This move marks another milestone in Binance’s growing role as a crypto policy partner for governments.
