Jack Mallers Steps Down as Twenty One CEO, Deal Plan Unravels

Jack Mallers has stepped down as CEO of Twenty One Capital after a board strategy split. The change was effective July 20, 2026, with Raphael Zagury appointed as CEO. Mallers said the move was about direction, not panic. He reiterated that Strike is his “Bitcoin company” and argued for an operating-biz model focused on cash flow from Bitcoin payments and services, rather than a “treasury-only” approach. For crypto traders, the key market signal is that Twenty One Capital is a major Bitcoin treasury firm and its stock reportedly reacted sharply to the leadership narrative. Strike is now clearly positioned outside the Twenty One structure. The latest update also reinforces that earlier merger talks tying Twenty One, Strike, and Elektron Energy into one platform are no longer active. A potential two-way tie-up between Twenty One and Elektron remains preliminary. Next, traders will watch Twenty One Capital under Zagury—especially because the company still holds a large Bitcoin position—while monitoring Strike’s execution speed and product decisions as it is freed from the prior board-level dispute.