Jack Mallers has stepped down as CEO of Twenty One (XXI), the Tether-backed Bitcoin treasury firm. His exit lands months after he publicly pressed Michael Saylor over mNAV math and digital credit yields.
The Strike founder says he quit after clashing with the board over the company’s direction. Critics now tie his exit to the doubts he raised on stage earlier this year.
Board Disagreements End Jack Mallers’ Twenty One Tenure
Mallers announced the decision this week. XXI began trading on December 9, 2025, so his run lasted just seven months. The firm went public with roughly 43,500 BTC, worth about $4 billion at the time. Tether, Bitfinex, and SoftBank backed it.
Tether took full control in May 2026 by buying SoftBank’s entire stake.
He shared more detail in follow-up posts. He walked away, he said, because “the board and I couldn’t agree on the future of the company.”
He also denied a claim by X’s Grok chatbot that he collected $140.8 million in pay. His forfeited options, he noted, now expire worthless.
The exit leaves the second-largest corporate Bitcoin treasury fully in Tether’s hands. XXI is already rethinking its model. Incoming CEO Raphael Zagury wants cash flow, not just more Bitcoin buying.
The Saylor Questions That Resurfaced After His Exit
The backstory makes the exit sting more. At BTC Prague earlier this year, Mallers challenged Saylor from the audience over mNAV. The metric shows how much the market pays for each dollar of Bitcoin a treasury firm holds.
His concern was simple. Some firms count securities as equity even when they are far from turning into shares. That inflates the metric. In an interview at the event, he explained the question he put to Saylor.
“…do you agree with classifying out of the money securities as equity, which obviously that would inflate the equity value, which would make an MNAV metric more attractive,” Mallers said.
He used XXI’s own convertible bond as the example. The bond turns into stock at $13 per share. However, the stock traded near $5 at the time, so that switch was nowhere close.
On a panel the same day, Mallers took aim at digital credit. These products pay investors a big yearly dividend that never stops.
Stretch, sold by Strategy, paid 11.5% when Mallers spoke. SEC filings show the rate rose to 12% in July. His question was simple. Who pays that bill without real revenue?
“You’re not doing anything productive in the economy to produce cash flow that can afford the money that you want to give to your grandmother. So, who’s coming up with the money?” he said during the panel.
Saylor responded at length at the time. He framed mNAV as one metric among several and defended the model’s math.
Those clips are now everywhere again. Many read them as proof that Mallers doubted the sector’s core math long before he left it.
Rug Pull Claims Meet a Firm Denial
The market’s verdict was quick. XXI closed near $4.60 on Tuesday, down 13.5% in a day. Early backers paid $10 per share, so they have lost more than half their money.
Critics on X claim losses of up to 85% from the stock’s peak, and some accused Mallers of abandoning shareholders.
He pushed back hard.
“Rug pull? Who pulled what rug? I resigned voluntarily, took no severance, forfeited my options, and walked away because it was the right thing to do. Twenty One also never sold shares via an ATM while I was CEO,” Mallers replied on X.
Reactions split into three camps. Investor Mike Alfred praised the move as a sign of clarity and alignment. BnkToTheFuture founder Simon Dixon went further. He framed it as Mallers walking away from wrapped securities entirely.
A third camp sees a warning for the digital asset treasury (DAT) sector. The model looks strong while premiums grow, they argue. The real test starts when mNAV compresses and capital dries up.
The rankings could shift too. Metaplanet crossed 43,000 BTC in July. That nearly matches XXI’s stash of roughly 43,500 BTC, putting the second spot in play.
The debate lands with Bitcoin (BTC) near $66,600 on Tuesday, a five-week high. Mallers, meanwhile, returns his full attention to Strike. There, he wants cash flow, not dilution, to fund Bitcoin buying.
Whether his warnings prove right now depends on XXI’s next chapter under Tether. If the restructured company delivers without the metrics he questioned, his critique may fade with the drawdown that fueled it.
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