A multibillion-dollar Bitcoin transaction is drawing attention for its apparent connection to Twenty One’s preparations to list on the New York Stock Exchange.
What Happened
The transfer, identified by Whale Alert, moved 43,033 BTC, valued at roughly $3.9 billion at the time, into a wallet cluster that on-chain intelligence platforms associate with the company’s custody infrastructure.
The movement aligns with Twenty One’s previously stated plan to shift more than 43,500 BTC from escrow into its own wallets ahead of trading under the ticker XXI.
Soon after the transfer appeared, Tether (USDT) CEO Paolo Ardoino posted “XXI, so it begins,” publicly reinforcing the link between the on-chain activity and the company’s listing timeline.
Jack Mallers had earlier explained that the Bitcoin held in escrow would be moved into Twenty One’s control before the de-SPAC process closes, followed by an updated proof-of-reserves disclosure.
That sequence provides the operational context for the transaction and suggests that the transfer represents a scheduled custody realignment rather than new buying activity.
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Why It Matters
Documentation describing the financing structure outlines that Tether and affiliated entities, identified as majority owners, agreed to pre-purchase Bitcoin equal to the PIPE and related notes, with the coins held in escrow until the business combination completed.
Under that arrangement, the economic exposure was established prior to the listing, and the visible on-chain footprint marks a transfer of control rather than a market order executed on the day of the alert.
On-chain patterns are consistent with corporate treasury consolidation, and analysts expect further redistribution to long-term storage once the listing is finalized.
Twenty One is set to begin trading on December 9, after which proof-of-reserves data will allow public reconciliation of the transferred holdings.
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