Jack Mallers resigned as CEO of Twenty One (XXI) on July 21, citing disagreements with the board over the company's direction. The move sent shares down 13.5% to near $4.60 — a brutal level for early backers who paid $10 per share. Mallers denied receiving $140.8 million in pay; his forfeited options expire worthless.
The resignation and the pay dispute
Mallers stepped down voluntarily, he said, taking no severance and never selling shares via the ATM. The denial of the $140.8 million pay figure — which had circulated in some reports — was explicit. His forfeited options are now worthless. The company went public on December 9, 2025, 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 stake.
The mNAV clash and the board split
At BTC Prague earlier in 2026, Mallers challenged Michael Saylor over the mNAV metric. He questioned the classification of out-of-the-money securities as equity, which inflates the metric. Mallers also questioned digital credit products like Stretch — which offered 11.5% yield, later 12% — asking who pays the yield without real revenue. Saylor defended the model, stating mNAV is one metric among several and the math is sound. Those disagreements with the board over direction appear to have been the final straw.
Stock performance and investor reaction
Early backers lost more than half their investment. Critics claimed losses up to 85% from the stock's peak and accused Mallers of a rug pull. Mallers denied that, pointing to his voluntary resignation and forfeited options. Reactions split three ways: Mike Alfred praised the move; Simon Dixon framed it as walking away from wrapped securities; a third camp sees a warning for the digital asset treasury (DAT) sector. The timing isn't great — the stock was already under pressure.
Incoming CEO Raphael Zagury wants to focus on cash flow, not just Bitcoin buying. That's a shift from the Mallers era. Meanwhile, Metaplanet crossed 43,000 BTC in July 2026, nearly matching XXI's ~43,500 BTC. That puts the second-largest corporate Bitcoin treasury position in play. Zagury will have to show results fast — or watch the company's lead evaporate.
