In just a few months, a corporate copycat phenomenon has taken the digital asset space by storm. The strategy, championed by Michael Saylor’s bitcoin-accumulating giant, is seemingly straightforward: establish or rebrand a publicly listed company, secure funding through debt and equity, utilize the funds to acquire a specific cryptocurrency (typically bitcoin, but also expanding to others like ether, solana, and avalanche), and promote the stock as a more secure and often leveraged method for investors to gain cryptocurrency exposure without directly owning the tokens. Driven by increasing crypto prices and a more favorable regulatory landscape for digital assets, the model has proven to be exceptionally effective for certain players. Since Strategy’s initial bitcoin acquisition in August 2020, its stock has surged more than 2,200%, consistently trading at a notable premium compared to the value of the bitcoin it retains on its balance sheet. Japan’s Metaplanet, which adopted a similar “digital asset treasury” model in April 2024, has skyrocketed 3,830% since it began acquiring crypto.
The allure has grown to such an extent that it has spawned an entire industry of its own. According to Elliot Chun, a Palo Alto-based financial advisory firm tracking the trend, 228 publicly traded companies have announced DAT strategies—most of them just in 2025—with a collective $148 billion funneled into crypto on the belief that holding tokens will turbo charge their stock value as it has for Strategy. Only in the crypto realm could a fresh “metric” emerge for what the closed-end fund sector has traditionally labeled as either a discount or a premium to net asset value. Market to net asset value, or mNAV, assesses a company’s market capitalization in relation to the value of the cryptocurrency it possesses. In light of the recent buzz surrounding the industry, it’s noteworthy that most DAT companies are trading at or above 1.0. This indicates that their stock prices are equal to or surpass the per-share value of the cryptocurrency they hold. However, approximately 15% of DAT companies are currently trading below their crypto’s NAVs, or exhibiting a mNAV under 1.0, indicating that the business’s value is less than the tokens it holds on its balance sheet. Among the 168 public companies holding bitcoin, as tracked by BitcoinTreasuries.NET, 26 are currently trading at a discount. Solana-focused treasuries are experiencing comparable pressure: data from crypto analytics firm Artemis indicates that their mNAV premium has decreased by approximately 30% in recent weeks—from 2.8 to 2.0.
Kevin Li asserts that mNAV resembles the price-to-earnings ratio for crypto-focused companies. He argues that rather than concentrating on earnings, these companies expand by boosting the digital asset per share on their balance sheets. Holders of proof-of-stake tokens such as ether or solana have the opportunity to “organically” grow their assets through staking. By locking their tokens to support a blockchain network, they can earn yield, which clarifies why their mNAVs frequently exceed those of bitcoin-only counterparts. The recent compression in mNAV indicates an oversaturation of crypto equity, according to Li. “We’re currently experiencing a phase where we’re truly filtering out those who are only in it for the financial gain, the mercenaries.” Trading below NAV could pose challenges for these firms in securing new capital—be it through debt or equity—to acquire additional crypto assets. However, it’s not a death knell, and for value investors aiming to purchase $1.00 for 80 cents, this situation might present a buying opportunity. “Those expressing surprise at this development clearly haven’t examined Strategy’s history, which has largely been trading below its NAV throughout 2022-2023. During periods of lower prices or volatility, these mNAVs tend to compress,” says Matt Hougan. “There’s nothing about trading below NAV that doesn’t allow great management teams to increase their coins per share through staking, lending or other types of hedge fund-like work,” he continues. Should the discount continue, Hougan cautions that one strategy to protect NAV could involve selling a portion of tokens to repurchase shares, but he describes this approach as a potential “death cry” for these businesses. Frank Chaparro, who leads content and special projects at market maker GSR, emphasizes that effective communication from management is equally important. “We’re still in the early stages regarding the broader investment community’s grasp of these vehicles. “Many DATs don’t have analyst coverage, and discounts add to that distrust,” he says. “Adding transparency to the equation, proactively communicating what they’re doing and how they’re differentiated can help shore up confidence among investors.”
“It’s very apparent to me that not all DATs have their strategy figured out yet, but the right teams are going to be able to outperform and defend their premium to mNAV or whatever metric we end up using in the long-term,” states Chun. Cosmo Jiang, which has invested over $500 million across various digital asset tokens, including its own called Solana Company, believes that most digital asset treasuries are intended to trade at or below net asset value, similar to startups in other industries. In his view, the key metric that investors ought to concentrate on to assess a company’s growth potential is volume. “If the name of the game for DATs is your ability to drive excitement about the underlying token and the ability to express that excitement to a whole new set of investors, then volume is your biggest determiner of success. “And, of course, the amount of growth in tokens per share,” Jiang explains. Should investors consider purchasing crypto treasury companies that are indicating a significant discount in their mNAVs? Bitwise’s Hougan asserts that eventually these deals will reach a price point that is too attractive to overlook—either buyers will enter the fray or corporate activists will push for a resolution. “The question is, what is your investment horizon?” “If these assets are trading at deep discounts to NAV and have no encumbering liabilities, it’s probably a good strategy to hold, but you have to be comfortable with the discount widening,” he adds. “I’d liken it to acquiring GBTC at a reduced price.” You had the opportunity to acquire it at a 10% discount, only to witness it decline to 20%. One had to be prepared to withstand that. This situation isn’t entirely analogous—there’s no definitive route to an ETF—but the underlying principle remains comparable for investors with a high risk tolerance.
According to Jiang, investors ought to concentrate on companies whose management comprehends the mindset of traditional finance investors, can communicate effectively in their language, and knows how to leverage capital markets. Convertible debt and preferred-share financing, which Saylor’s Strategy has been successfully utilizing to grow into a $90 billion giant, are only efficient once a company reaches scale, he notes, as the cost of capital is prohibitively high for smaller firms. “I’d imagine that at least 50% of those publicly traded companies won’t be around in five years either because they were acquired or because they mismanaged their digital assets or because they were not able to execute the strategy,” says Chun. “However, I am confident that we will witness a cohort of approximately 15 DATs that will surpass the Magnificent 7 and emerge as household names by 2034.”