SoftBank, Return to Bitcoin market after 7 Years...Planned Investment of 900 Million Dollars

Masayoshi Son SoftBank Chairman (Source: AP)

SoftBank has once again entered the Bitcoin market. The major Japanese investment company SoftBank is jointly investing in the new Bitcoin investment firm ‘Twentyone Capital’ along with Tether, Bitfinex, and Cantor Fitzgerald, and is pushing for a Nasdaq listing.

Twentyone Capital is expected to be listed through a merger with Cantor Equity Partners, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) under Cantor Fitzgerald, and will hold over 42,000 Bitcoins at its launch. This figure is the third largest in the world at the corporate level.

Tether will provide $1.6 billion worth of Bitcoin, while Bitfinex and SoftBank plan to invest $600 million and $900 million, respectively. An additional $585 million will also be raised through convertible bonds and other means.

Cantor Fitzgerald Chairman Brandt Rutnick said, “This project will serve as a catalyst to accelerate the convergence of digital assets and traditional finance.” He is the son of Howard Lutnick, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, and is considered a symbol of the entry of digital assets into the existing financial sector.

Some are interpreting this move as a signal that large institutions are beginning to fully embrace cryptocurrencies. However, there is also a cautious perspective, referencing previous investment failures experienced by Chairman Son. At the end of 2017, Chairman Son invested around $200 million in Bitcoin at its peak, only to incur losses of over $50 million with the subsequent crash the following year, after which he sold all his holdings. He recollected, “I bought Bitcoin without really knowing it and couldn’t concentrate on work because I kept checking the prices.”

Whether this investment will be a repetition of the past or the starting point for SoftBank to solidify its long-term position in the digital asset market will become apparent after Twentyone Capital's listing.