US brokerage Cantor Fitzgerald is reportedly partnering with SoftBank, Tether and digital assets exchange Bitfinex to create a brand new acquisition entity.
The firms are seeking to form a US $3 billion special purpose acquisition vehicle to fund a new firm called 21 Capital, according to sources familiar with the matter, reported in the Financial Times.
The newly created entity is forecast to receive US $1.5 billion in Bitcoin from Tether, a further US $900m from Softbank and US $600m from Bitfinex. Additional funding is planned from a convertible bond and an equity private placement.
An official announcement with further details on the deal is scheduled to be made in the coming weeks, although the FT’s report underscored that any deal could yet fail to materialise.
The move is the latest in a series of notable activities for Cantor in the world of digital assets. In March, Capital Pioneer reported that the brokerage had entered into a partnership with two digital asset custodians to support its Bitcoin financing business.
The deal saw Anchorage Digital and Copper appointed as collateral managers for Cantor’s recently formed Bitcoin unit, designed to provide leverage to institutional investors who hold Bitcoin.
Howard Lutnick was the chief executive officer of Cantor until he stepped down last month to become US commerce secretary. His departure resulted in his sons – Brandon and Kyle Lutnick – taking up the positions of chairman and executive vice chairman at the company.
