Key Insights:
- Major crypto treasury companies have seen steep losses, with some down 50–80% from 2025 highs.
- Forced selling is occurring as Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs) liquidate assets to cover debt or fund buybacks.
- Most DATs now trade below the value of their underlying crypto holdings (mNAV < 1), highlighting structural fragility.
- Smaller and riskier companies may continue to unwind, while top players like Strategy and BMNR are likely to survive.
Crypto treasury companies are facing a harsh reckoning. Bitcoin’s late-2025 selloff, roughly a 20% drop from its summer peak, has cascaded into the public companies built on crypto hoarding.
Leading names have plummeted further than crypto itself. Michael Saylor’s Strategy Inc. saw its MSTR stock slide from about $457 in July to $328 by mid-September, and trading near $200 by mid-November (roughly a 50% decline from its year-high).
Tokyo-listed crypto treasury company Metaplanet’s shares have collapsed by roughly 75% since mid-June. ETH-focused treasury, SharpLink Gaming, was off nearly 90% from 2025 highs.
Overall, Bitcoin is down 20% from its recent peak, and Ethereum has slid about a third. Ethereum-heavy DATs have been hit hardest, with Bitmine stock (BMNR) down roughly two-thirds since summer, and other Ether trackers similarly trade far below their entry levels.
These brutal moves, reported as of November 18, come from crypto exchanges and market-data sources tracking prices and share quotes.
Crypto Treasury Companies Under Pressure
This shakeout has fed on itself. A recent Reuters analysis found that by Nov. 10, at least 15 Bitcoin-focused crypto treasury companies were trading below the value of the crypto they hold.
In other words, their market capitalization is less than the coins in reserve. Such valuation compressions were unheard-of during this year’s rally: most digital asset treasury (DAT) stocks once commanded premiums to NAV.
The sudden switch to discounts reflects forced selling.
For example, Paris-based Sequans (SQNS) became the first pure-play Bitcoin treasury to actually liquidate assets – unloading 970 BTC (about 30% of its stack) to pay down debt. Sequans cut half its convertible debt by this move.
More broadly, nearly every BTC-focused treasury stock has collapsed even as Bitcoin itself was only about 20% below its record high.
Standard Chartered researchers warned that the combined holdings of crypto treasury companies, about 4% of all Bitcoin and 3% of all Ethereum, mean these liquidations “could have major implications” for prices.
This dovetails with other signs of strain. Several DAT executives have launched share buybacks or other bailouts to stabilize stocks.
For example, Ethereum treasury ETHZilla quietly sold roughly $40 million of its ETH reserve (about 10% of its holdings) to fund a stock buyback program.
The sell-offs are underway even as long-term crypto prices wobble. Reuters notes that BIT mining companies and others have “only modest fundamentals” outside crypto, so any pullback leaves little cushion.
In practical terms, this means corporate balance sheets once propped up by fast-rising crypto are now bleeding value: Sequans’ move to sell BTC was explicitly to reduce leverage, lowering its debt-to-asset ratio from 55% to 39%.
Many digital asset treasury market caps now trade well beneath the value of their crypto hoard, making it difficult or impossible to raise capital for further accumulation.”
Put another way, the damage is stark: Bitcoin sits about 20% below its 2025 peak and Ether is roughly 36% lower, while major treasuries have plunged — Strategy down 50%, Metaplanet 80%, SharpLink 70% and BitMine 46%.
Crypto Treasury Companies Trading Below Net Asset Value
The flip to discounts highlights structural fragility. In recent weeks, several Reuters reports underscored that most large crypto treasury companies are now at or under NAV.
A Reuters story on Nov. 10 noted “at least 15 Bitcoin treasury companies were trading below the net asset value of their tokens as of Friday.”
Retail investors had poured an estimated $17 billion into crypto treasury companies during the boom, only to see steep losses. With equity prices so compressed, analysts say companies may soon be forced to sell crypto to cover costs.
In effect, mNAV (market-cap-to-NAV) ratios have plunged well under 1.0 for virtually all major stocks of crypto treasury companies, meaning the stock is worth less than its digital-asset stash.
This imbalance is prompting defensive moves. Several firms have announced stock repurchases to shore up weak prices.
For example, Ethereum treasuries ETHZilla and Forward Industries have launched buybacks as their shares languish below NAV.
However, buybacks can only do so much if underlying assets keep falling. “When DAT stocks trade below the value of their crypto holdings, it means the market is no longer rewarding them for outsized accumulation in the same way it once did,” one analyst observed.
In practice, that makes the continued growth of a digital asset treasury (DAT) model difficult: raising new funds via equity or debt becomes hard when shares are depressed.
In fact, Sequans’ spokesman noted the selloff and debt paydown were partly intended to expand future capital options, signaling that at least one treasury firm now bristles at relying solely on new PIPE offerings.
A DATs Shakeout Ahead?
What comes next for crypto treasury companies is a matter of debate, but the direction is clear. The selloff has already forced some Nasdaq- and Tokyo-listed DATs to unwind positions. Industry researchers expect more.
A September note from Standard Chartered warned that the currency holdings and “consolidation” are likely as weaker players falter.
Smaller or riskier treasuries – especially those chasing exotic altcoins – seem most exposed. Many have so little margin that even a slight crypto dip can leave them underwater.
By contrast, the largest and most debt-free names have more cushion. Well-capitalized Bitcoin treasuries (think Strategy and Bit Mining) are already seen as relatively oversold and “more oversold than finished,” according to market commentators – implying they stand a better chance of weathering this storm.
For now, the key fact is this: most crypto treasuries trade at heavy discounts to the coins they hold. That dynamic, confirmed by both data and executive commentary, raises the prospect of further asset sales and pressure on prices.
If many firms continue liquidating or exit the game, the sector may shrink rapidly in the coming months. In short, the 2025 boom in crypto treasury companies now looks like a classic bubble collapse, one leaving behind deep NAV discounts and only the strongest firms intact.