Public companies holding cryptocurrency as a core treasury asset — known as Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs) — have grown from a fringe corporate strategy to a $114.6 billion sector encompassing 113 active firms. The model, pioneered by Strategy Inc. (formerly MicroStrategy) beginning in 2020, now...
Public companies holding cryptocurrency as a core treasury asset — known as Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs) — have grown from a fringe corporate strategy to a $114.6 billion sector encompassing 113 active firms. The model, pioneered by Strategy Inc. (formerly MicroStrategy) beginning in 2020, now faces its first serious stress test. Bitcoin trades at $76,610 as of May 26, 2026 — down 39% from its October 2025 peak of $126,198. Roughly 40% of publicly traded Bitcoin treasuries now trade below their net asset value, meaning equity markets value these companies at less than the crypto on their books.
The sector is bifurcating. At one end, Strategy holds 843,738 BTC ($64.5 billion) but trades at a basic mNAV of 0.94×, below parity for the first time since 2022. At the other end, undercapitalized DATs face margin calls, dividend obligations, and convertible debt maturities they cannot service. Galaxy Digital warned in its 2026 annual report that at least five crypto treasury firms face forced asset sales, mergers, or closure. The shakeout is underway.
As of May 12, 2026, publicly traded companies report combined holdings of 1,187,898 BTC, per data tracked by Bitbo. CoinGecko's broader institutional tracker counts 188 entities holding Bitcoin worth $145 billion, representing 9.01% of Bitcoin's total supply. The Block's Corporate Crypto Treasury Tracker identifies 113 active companies with a combined NAV of $114.6 billion, of which Bitcoin accounts for 84.4% ($96.7 billion).
These figures represent a structural shift in Bitcoin's ownership distribution. Five years ago, corporate treasuries held negligible amounts. Today, nearly one in ten bitcoins sits on a public company balance sheet. The question is no longer whether the corporate treasury model exists. It is whether it can survive a sustained downturn.
Five entities dominate the sector, holding approximately 80% of all publicly tracked corporate Bitcoin:
| Company | Ticker | BTC Holdings | USD Value (est.) | Avg. Cost/BTC | |---------|--------|-------------|-------------------|---------------| | Strategy Inc. | MSTR | 843,738 | $64.5B | $75,701 | | Twenty One Capital | XXI | 43,514 | $3.4B | ~$78,000 | | Metaplanet | 3350.T | 40,177 | $3.0B | $97,593 | | MARA Holdings | MARA | 35,303 | $2.7B | N/A | | Bullish | BLSH | 24,300 | $1.9B | N/A |
Strategy remains the dominant force, holding 71% of all publicly tracked corporate BTC. The company added 130,000+ BTC over the past year, raising $25.3 billion in equity capital in 2025 alone — making it the largest equity issuer among U.S. public companies for two consecutive years, according to VanEck research.
Metaplanet, Japan's largest crypto treasury firm, has reached 40% of its stated target of 100,000 BTC by year-end 2026. However, its average acquisition cost of $97,593 per BTC now sits 27% above the current spot price, placing the firm underwater on its entire position.
The crypto treasury model depends on a specific financial dynamic: a company's stock trades at a premium to its underlying crypto holdings (measured as mNAV, or market-cap-to-net-asset-value). When mNAV exceeds 1.0×, management can issue new equity above NAV, buy more crypto, and increase crypto-per-share for existing holders. This is the "flywheel" that Strategy popularized.
That flywheel has stalled.
Strategy's basic mNAV fell to 0.94× as of May 25, 2026, with its stock closing at $159.89. The company's market cap of approximately $55.8 billion is now less than the $65.3 billion fair value of its Bitcoin holdings. When mNAV drops below 1.0×, equity issuance becomes dilutive — each new share sold delivers less than one share's worth of Bitcoin to existing holders.
The compression is sector-wide. According to analysis from DL News and The Block, roughly 40% of publicly traded Bitcoin treasuries now trade at discounts to NAV. VanEck CEO Jan van Eck publicly dismissed the sector as a "publicity-driven trend." Veteran analyst Herb Greenberg characterized Strategy as a "quasi-Ponzi scheme" dependent on continued equity issuance at premiums that no longer exist.
Three capital structure risks now converge across the sector:
Convertible debt maturities. Strategy carries $8.2 billion in long-term convertible debt with maturities spanning 2027-2030. In May 2026, the company announced a $1.5 billion repurchase of its 0% Convertible Senior Notes due 2029, acquiring them for $1.38 billion — an 8% discount reflecting market skepticism. The company indicated it may fund these repurchases through cash reserves, at-the-market equity sales, or potentially Bitcoin sales. The mention of potential BTC sales on Strategy's Q1 2026 earnings call contributed to the mNAV compression.
Preferred stock obligations. Strive Asset Management (ticker: ASST) has issued SATA preferred shares carrying a 13% annual dividend. As of May 2026, Strive holds 15,391 BTC and claims 18 months of cash reserves for dividend coverage. Beginning June 16, 2026, dividend frequency will increase from monthly (12 payments/year) to daily (approximately 250 payments/year). Strive's Q1 2026 10-Q filing disclosed a $266 million loss on Bitcoin revaluation.
Equity dilution. Companies that issued shares at 2.0-3.0× mNAV premiums in 2025 can no longer replicate that capital efficiency. The average cost basis for companies that accumulated heavily in Q4 2025 and Q1 2026 — approximately 130,611 BTC purchased between $87,000 and $125,000 — now reflects unrealized losses of 12-39% at current prices.
The sector continues to expand even as the stress test intensifies.
SpaceX. Elon Musk's rocket company disclosed 18,712 BTC on its balance sheet in its Form S-1 filing ahead of a planned June 2026 IPO. The filing revealed an original 2021 acquisition of 25,724 BTC at a total cost of $661 million (average $35,324/BTC), with 7,012 BTC subsequently sold. At current prices, SpaceX's position is worth approximately $1.43 billion — a 117% unrealized gain. SpaceX now surpasses Tesla (11,509 BTC) as the largest Bitcoin holder among Musk-affiliated companies.
Ethereum treasuries. Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) has become the dominant Ethereum treasury play, holding 5,278,462 ETH ($11.24 billion) as of May 2026 — over 4.3% of total Ethereum supply. The company stakes 3,334,637 ETH ($7.7 billion), generating a projected $330 million in annual staking rewards. Ethereum treasury holdings across all tracked firms grew 77% between September 2025 and March 2026, from 3.7 million to 6.58 million ETH.
Strive. Vivek Ramaswamy's Strive Asset Management has aggressively entered the space, setting weekly purchase records of 460-790 BTC per week in May 2026 using proceeds from SATA preferred equity raises. The company also purchased $50 million of Strategy's STRC preferred series, creating cross-ownership linkages within the treasury ecosystem.
On May 20, 2026, Tether International acquired SoftBank's approximately 26% stake in Twenty One Capital (XXI), the Bitcoin treasury firm the two companies co-founded in April 2025. SoftBank's stake, purchased for nearly $1 billion, was valued at approximately $711 million at the time of sale — a 29% loss for the Japanese conglomerate.
The deal removes SoftBank's board representation and consolidates Tether's control of the NYSE-listed vehicle. Tether has subsequently proposed merging XXI with Strike (Jack Mallers' payments firm) and Elektron Energy (a Bitcoin mining operation), creating a vertically integrated Bitcoin business spanning custody, payments, and mining.
SoftBank's exit is notable. The firm, which built its reputation on high-conviction technology bets, effectively capitulated on a position after holding it for roughly 13 months. The $289 million loss represents the gap between the venture-style entry valuation and the market's current assessment of the treasury model.
Galaxy Digital's 2026 annual report identified several failure modes for the sector:
mNAV death spiral. When mNAV drops below 1.0×, equity issuance is dilutive. Companies lose access to their primary funding mechanism. With no revenue-generating business underlying the treasury, they cannot service debt or dividends through operations.
Forced selling contagion. If one or more DATs are forced to liquidate BTC holdings to meet obligations, the resulting sell pressure could depress BTC prices further, triggering additional mNAV compression across the sector.
Cross-ownership risk. Strive's purchase of Strategy's STRC preferred shares creates counterparty dependencies. A failure at one firm could cascade through interlocking positions.
Regulatory exposure. As DATs proliferate, regulators may reclassify these vehicles as investment companies under the Investment Company Act of 1940, subjecting them to SEC oversight, leverage limits, and diversification requirements they currently avoid.
Concentration risk. Strategy alone holds 71% of all corporate BTC. Any forced selling by Strategy — even partial — would represent a supply shock on liquid exchanges.
The crypto treasury model is undergoing its first genuine stress test. The premise — that public companies could create shareholder value by accumulating cryptocurrency at premiums to NAV — requires persistently rising asset prices and continuous access to cheap capital. Neither condition currently holds. Bitcoin is down 39% from its peak. Strategy trades below its Bitcoin NAV. SoftBank has exited. Galaxy Digital is counting potential failures.
The sector will likely bifurcate. Companies with low cost bases (SpaceX at $35,324/BTC), revenue-generating operations (Bitmine's $330 million projected staking income), or the scale to weather a prolonged downturn (Strategy's $64.5 billion position) may survive. Companies that entered at elevated prices, carry heavy preferred dividend obligations, or lack operational revenue face a different calculus.
The 113 companies currently holding crypto on their balance sheets will not all be there in 12 months.