Are Digital Asset Treasuries Crypto’s Berkshire Hathaway?

Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs), often described as the “balance sheets” of crypto ecosystems, now collectively manage an estimated $105 billion in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana.

This places them among the largest holders of digital wealth outside exchanges and custodians.

How DATs Are Reshaping Crypto’s Market Structure

Digital asset markets are entering a new maturity phase, with DATs, a once-overlooked sector, quickly emerging as a potential cornerstone.

Sponsored

Sponsored

Unlike speculative traders chasing short-term gains, DATs have stewarded resources for decades. Their rise signals a structural shift away from volatility-driven hype cycles toward sustainable, capital-intensive strategies.

Jamie Coutts, independent crypto analyst and former Bloomberg strategist, framed DATs within the broader cycle dynamics he tracks.

“ETFs and BTC treasury companies have driven this cycle, but the structural bid from treasuries is slowing as mNAVs compress. The weight of this market now sits more with ETF flows…Still, two secular trends are bulletproof: blockchain adoption and monetary debasement,” wrote Coutts.

In this respect, analysts compare DATs to traditional financial (TradFi) conglomerates such as Berkshire Hathaway. The comparison follows the company’s transformation from an industrial holding company into one of the world’s most influential investment engines.

In their earliest form, treasuries in crypto projects functioned primarily as rainy-day funds, holding native tokens to finance developer teams and marketing.

However, with the programmability of smart contract platforms like Ethereum and Solana, DATs are growing into much more.

They are actively investing, deploying liquidity, and shaping ecosystems in ways similar to how sovereign wealth funds or endowments influence traditional markets.

The Solana Foundation, for instance, has funded validator subsidies, developer grants, and ecosystem ventures directly from its treasury.

Sponsored

Sponsored

Similarly, Ethereum-aligned treasuries such as those tied to DAOs are underwriting research, onboarding infrastructure, and experimenting with tokenized incentives.

These actions do more than support price, driving adoption and embedding treasuries as indispensable economic engines.

Scaling Toward Institutional Parallels, But Not All Will Survive

The comparison to Berkshire Hathaway is not accidental. As Warren Buffett’s holding company reinvests profits into productive businesses, DATs can recycle blockchain revenues into further growth.

Transaction fees, staking yields, and ecosystem revenues provide a steady flow of income that can be redeployed strategically.

However, according to Alex Krüger, macroeconomist and crypto strategist, many treasuries lack professional management.

“Some of these DATs are crypto hedge funds run by people who don’t know how to trade. Such a fantastic recipe,” wrote Krüger.

Sponsored

Sponsored

Similarly, Ryan Watkins, co-founder at Syncracy Capital, indicated that most DATs lack substance beyond financial engineering. Based on this, Watkins argues they will likely fade once the hype subsides.

“…by over-indexing short-term speculative factors, the market is discounting the long-term economic potential of DATs that become winners,” wrote Watkins.

That possibility raises a provocative scenario of treasuries acting beyond market participants and as central pillars of governance.

A sufficiently large treasury can dictate protocol development, stabilize token economics, and fund lobbying efforts in traditional political systems.

Still, risks remain high. Many DATs hold concentrated portfolios of volatile native assets, making them vulnerable to price shocks.

Others face governance challenges, with communities struggling to decide how funds should be deployed. In the worst cases, poorly managed treasuries could collapse under misallocation, much like over-leveraged hedge funds.

Sponsored

Sponsored

The outcome is likely to be uneven, with some burning through reserves while those that adapt anchor long-term stability in crypto markets.

“Not all DATs will scale,” Watkins cautioned.

Coutts also tied DAT resilience to broader liquidity conditions, indicating that Bitcoin’s perceived “boring climb” mirrors this cycle’s slow crawl in global liquidity.

“Ironically, a dull cycle could mean a shallow bear drawdown and a longer grind down. If and when they reverse tightening, Central banks will set off another leg higher, with Alts benefiting most. In that environment, the strongest DATs could compound capital like Berkshire did in TradFi,” Coutts added.

Digital Asset Treasuries are positioned to become structural actors rather than speculative side players as crypto moves through its second decade.

If Berkshire Hathaway once symbolized the power of disciplined capital in traditional markets, DATs could represent the same for blockchain economies. This means becoming long-term investors that bridge speculation with stability.

While the comparison may not be perfect, it captures the stakes. On the one hand, DATs could be the institutions that finally mature crypto markets.

On the other hand, they could be the latest reminder that unchecked optimism often exceeds execution.