Crypto Treasury Model Losing Edge as DAT Stock Premiums Vanish

The crypto treasury model has largely run out of runway, with only four of the 20 largest digital asset treasury (DAT) companies now trading above a market-to-NAV ratio of 1, according to a Thursday report from DWF Ventures. An mNAV above 1 means a company's market capitalization exceeds the value of its crypto holdings—a premium that historically allowed firms to issue shares and accumulate more digital assets without diluting existing shareholders. Bit Digital, Strive, Hyperliquid Strategies, and BitMine are the only large DATs still commanding such premiums.

The shift marks a stark reversal for the strategy popularized by Michael Saylor's Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) beginning in 2020. According to DWF, most DAT stocks have underperformed simply holding the underlying cryptocurrency since the model's inception. Even among DATs that did outperform, the margin of advantage has been slim. Strategy itself saw its mNAV peak in late 2024 during Bitcoin's price rally, when demand for leveraged BTC exposure through public equities was at its strongest.

DWF's findings align with earlier warnings from major institutions. Standard Chartered flagged the risk of an 'mNAV collapse' in September 2025, while Galaxy Digital argued last year that the DAT model 'critically depends on a persistent equity premium to NAV.' When shares trade below the value of underlying crypto holdings, raising equity to buy more tokens becomes dilutive and undermines the strategy's core financial logic. The concern is no longer hypothetical: French semiconductor firm Sequans Communications, which launched a Bitcoin treasury strategy in 2024, disclosed this week that it sold its remaining 314 BTC and now holds zero cryptocurrency on its balance sheet.

With premiums evaporating across the sector, DWF's report signals a turning point for corporate crypto adoption. Industry analysts expect the trend to accelerate consolidation, as weaker DATs struggle to justify their balance sheet expansion and shareholders grow impatient with underperformance relative to spot crypto holdings. The firms maintaining premium valuations will likely set the template for what a sustainable version of the crypto treasury model looks like in a more skeptical market.