Here’s what happened in crypto today

Today in crypto, Twenty One Capital climbed in after-hours trading after Tether proposed a three-way merger with Strike and Elektron Energy. Visa added Polygon and Base to its stablecoin settlement pilot that now includes nine blockchains and MoonPay acquired Israel-based crypto security infrastructure provider Sodot in a $100 million push into institutional crypto.

Twenty One Capital rises on proposed merger with Strike and Elektron

Shares in the Bitcoin-buying company Twenty One Capital climbed in after-hours trading on Wednesday after its majority shareholder, Tether, proposed a three-way merger with two other crypto companies.

Tether said Wednesday that it intends to vote in favor of a proposed merger between Twenty One Capital and Bitcoin payments company Strike, followed by a proposed merger of the combined company with Bitcoin mining firm Elektron Energy.

Tether added that if the mergers go through, “Strike would be contributing a profitable financial services platform, global distribution and regulatory infrastructure and Elektron would be adding large-scale Bitcoin mining infrastructure, operational depth and proven execution capabilities.”

Shares in Twenty One Capital (XXI) ended trading on Wednesday down 1.7% at $7.83, but jumped to a high of $9.28 after hours before settling at $8.35 for a gain of 6.6% after the bell.

Shares in Twenty One Capital on Wednesday surged after hours. Source: Google Finance

Visa adds Polygon, Base support as stablecoin settlement run rate hits $7B

Global payments giant Visa has expanded its stablecoin settlement pilot to include Polygon and four other blockchain networks, signaling continued experimentation with crypto-based payment infrastructure.

The pilot, launched by Visa in 2023, allows partners to settle transactions using stablecoins rather than traditional banking rails. Newly supported networks include Polygon, Base, the Canton Network, Arc and Tempo. They join existing supported chains such as Ethereum, Solana, Stellar and Avalanche.

The expansion comes as the program has reached an annualized settlement run rate of roughly $7 billion, growing about 50% quarter over quarter, according to Visa. Despite that growth, volume remains small compared to the company’s core payments business.

The initiative is designed to evaluate whether stablecoins can offer faster settlement, round-the-clock availability and efficiencies in cross-border payments.

Key stablecoin statistics and average cost savings relative to traditional payments. Source: Bessemer Venture Partners

MoonPay buys crypto security firm Sodot in $100 million push into institutional crypto

Crypto payments platform MoonPay is launching an institutional unit after acquiring Sodot, an Israeli crypto security infrastructure provider.

MoonPay on Wednesday announced the acquisition of Sodot, using Sodot’s key management technology as the core infrastructure layer of its new business serving financial institutions, asset managers, trading firms and exchanges entering digital asset markets.

"We built MoonPay to be the world's leading crypto payments network,” MoonPay co-founder and CEO Ivan Soto-Wright said in a press release, adding that its institutional arm is the next stage for the company.

According to Bloomberg, the deal closed in April in an all-stock transaction valued at around $100 million. MoonPay did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment to confirm the deal’s details.

The move expands MoonPay’s business beyond retail crypto payments and reflects rising demand from traditional finance companies for secure wallet and custody infrastructure as they expand into digital assets.

The unit will be led by Caroline Pham, who joined MoonPay as its chief legal officer and chief administrative officer in December after serving as acting chair of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission before joining MoonPay in late 2025.

Source: MoonPay