Raphael Zagury, CEO of Twenty One Capital, delivered a keynote speech at Bitcoin Asia 2026 in Hong Kong on August 28, arguing that Bitcoin mining has entered the first-ever hash rate bear market. The company submitted the full text and materials of the speech to the U.S. SEC on August 31. According to the materials, the network hash rate peaked at 1275 EH/s on September 19, 2025, and is now in the high 900s EH/s, 22-24% lower, marking the longest period without a new high in the past decade. During China's mining ban in 2021, the hash rate plummeted from 180 EH/s to 86 EH/s in 51 days, but it took about nine months to reach a new high. Zagury noted that back then, machines simply had nowhere to go, whereas now mining is unprofitable. In the speech, he discussed three points: the benefits of competitor exit due to difficulty adjustments, the flexibility of mining as an electrical load, and the optionality in the AI and HPC sectors. He concluded that if prices recover first, "the gap between price and hash rate that has plagued miners for 15 years will, for the first time, work in reverse." Zagury is also the founder of mining company Elektron Energy, and Twenty One Capital, which holds 43,514 BTC, is considering a merger with that company.
Twenty One Capital, Inc.Twenty One Capital's CEO gave the keynote and the company submitted the speech to the SEC; it holds 43,514 BTC and is considering a merger with Elektron Energy, but no clear directional impact is stated.
Elektron Energy is mentioned only as the mining company founded by Zagury that Twenty One Capital is considering merging with.
