Karla Barker 
The DAT Market Collapse
Digital Asset Treasury companies are experiencing a significant downturn that’s raising concerns across the crypto industry. These public companies, which built their entire business models around accumulating Bitcoin and Ethereum, are now facing severe pressure as crypto prices decline.
Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy, often seen as the flagship Bitcoin treasury play, has dropped over 50% from its intra-year high of $455 to around $200. But it’s not alone in this struggle. Metaplanet, another major Bitcoin DAT, has seen its value decline by nearly 80%. The situation appears even more challenging for Ethereum-focused treasuries.
Ethereum Strategies Hit Harder
SharpLink Gaming has experienced what can only be described as a dramatic fall, plummeting nearly 90% from its 2025 highs. Tom Lee’s $11 billion ETH treasury bet through BMNR has also taken a substantial hit, down roughly 34% in the latest Ethereum price slide.
This collective downturn has created what industry observers are calling a “brutal picture” for the DAT sector. Some companies have already begun selling portions of their crypto holdings, which raises concerns that other major players might be forced to follow suit.
Market Sentiment Shifts
Yaroslav Patsira from CEX.IO notes that when DAT stocks trade below the value of their crypto holdings, it signals that “the market is no longer rewarding them for outsized accumulation in the same way it once did.” This doesn’t necessarily mean these companies are finished, but they’re certainly under real pressure.
Fakhul Miah of Gomining Institutional offers a slightly more optimistic perspective, suggesting that “for the stronger Bitcoin names, this looks more oversold than finished.” He observes that Bitcoin-focused treasuries with cleaner balance sheets are holding up better than multi-asset DATs that chased higher-risk tokens.
The Core Problem
The fundamental issue facing DATs is that their market value has compressed to well below the net asset value of their crypto holdings. Most are now trading at around 80% of their underlying asset value. Many analysts predicted this outcome, questioning why investors would pay a premium for a holding company when they could simply buy the underlying assets directly. However, few anticipated the speed of this unwinding.
Looking forward, the smaller DATs holding more exotic or riskier tokens will likely continue selling or may even unwind completely. Some might be acquired. The larger players like MicroStrategy, BMNR, and SharpLink are expected to survive, though they face potential near-term pain if bearish price action continues.
What’s interesting is that the Ethereum strategies led by figures like Joe Lubin and Tom Lee are still relatively new and haven’t fully unlocked the yield-bearing benefits of their ETH balance sheets. Meanwhile, Saylor’s long track record in this space makes his company’s path to implosion difficult to envision.
Still, prospective buyers will need convincing arguments to invest in DATs after this significant drawdown. The leaders in this space will need to refine their pitches during this challenging period.