Public companies adopting digital asset treasuries, inspired by leaders like Michael Saylor, have seen steep declines in value as the craze wanes in 2025.

DATs emerged in early 2025 as a trend where corporate cash was used to buy crypto tokens, turning some firms into Bitcoin or crypto treasury vehicles.

Markets worry about forced sales or a broader unwind, since any asset sell-off announcements could push token prices lower and erode investor confidence.

Despite the downturn, there is continued activity around acquisitions, signaling some belief in long-term potential of digital assets.

Analysts note that investors saw little yield beyond potential price gains, leading to a contraction of these DATs.

Even though some DATs held value above their token holdings, the broader trend points to most DATs finishing the year below start levels, with Bloomberg projecting around 70% lower.

Mergers and acquisitions among smaller DATs are being explored to provide downside protection via structured securities, potentially reshaping the market.

The situation underscores the risks of relying on volatile crypto assets for corporate treasuries, especially when holdings fail to generate cash flow in a rising-rate environment.

Instances like Greenlane Holdings show drastic declines despite large crypto holdings, illustrating the risk of this strategy.

Strategy Inc. and others faced liquidity pressures, with some considering selling Bitcoin to fund dividends if NAV falls below crypto value.

Many DATs struggle to pay interest and dividends on debt used to buy tokens, hampering capital raises and fueling market skepticism.

In 2025, the median price of US and Canadian-listed DATs fell about 43%, while Bitcoin declined around 6%, highlighting a disconnect between token holdings and stock performance.

Bloomberg data show the same 43% drop in DAT stock prices for the year, underscoring the sectorwide retrenchment.

The sector’s hardest losses hit smaller, more volatile tokens, as the overall 2025 DAT rally cools and consolidation emerges into 2026.

Looking ahead, the DAT rally has cooled, with activity concentrating among larger, value-bearing firms and a shift toward restructuring and potential consolidation early next year.

Funding for these purchases relied heavily on convertible bonds and preferred shares, collectively raising over $45 billion in 2025 to acquire crypto, creating substantial debt service obligations as yields faltered.

SharpLink Gaming’s aggressive shift to Ethereum produced a 2,600% stock rally at one point, but the stock later fell about 86% from its peak, eroding much of the value relative to its token holdings.

Other DATs experienced dramatic early-year rallies before sharp reversals, with several firms seeing large declines in stock value despite crypto holdings.

Analysts attribute the downturn to the lack of yield from crypto holdings, making it hard to service debt and sustain cash flow, dampening investor confidence.

Acquisitions of smaller DATs valued below current holdings are being considered as a potential pathway to stabilize the sector amid ongoing stress.

Public companies broadly adopted a strategy of using corporate cash to buy Bitcoin or other digital assets to bolster share prices, a move framed as a perpetual treasury program.

The approach was popularized by Michael Saylor through Strategy Inc., inspiring more than a hundred firms to adopt similar crypto treasury strategies in the first half of 2025.