Bitcoin treasury companies face valuation strain, 40% now underwater

Almost half of all publicly-listed Bitcoin treasury companies, also known as Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs), are trading below the value of the digital assets on their balance sheets. About 40% of the top 100 Bitcoin treasury firms are valued by the market at less than the net asset value of their BTC holdings, according to data from BitcoinTreasuries.net.

At least 37 companies in the group now trade at discounts to NAV, a notable reversal from conditions seen in Q2 and Q3 2025 when the king coin was changing hands at all-time-high levels.

During the first three quarters of the year, most treasury firms possessed sizable premiums and could issue equity above the value of their Bitcoin, raise capital, and buy more coins without immediate shareholder dilution. Nearly 200 public firms now hold more than 1 million Bitcoin collectively, valued at roughly $96 billion in 2026.

Among the top 5 BTC DATs by holdings are Strategy, with 672,497 BTC, and MARA Holdings, which owns 53,250 coins. Twenty One Capital holds 43,514 Bitcoin, Metaplanet controls 35,102, and Bitcoin Standard Treasury holds 30,021.

Is the Bitcoin DAT model a failure? mNAVs fall steeply

When Michael Saylor’s software firm Strategy (previously MicroStrategy) began buying Bitcoin through convertible notes and equity, Bitcoin’s price was slightly above $11,000. Fast forward to 5 years later, an all-time-high value of $126,000 in October must have been a reason for MSTR shareholders to smile, but that wasn’t entirely the case.

The model began to falter as equity valuations slipped and BTC prices tanked by over 30% in just three months, not to mention several firms like Strategy had bought the highs. Once stock prices fell below NAV, the business model of issuing new shares to buy Bitcoin became uneconomical, exposing firms to market pressure and investor criticism.

A December report from BitcoinTreasuries.net showed that only one BTC treasury company, France-based The Blockchain Group, outperformed the S&P 500 in 2025, since the benchmark US stocks index returned 16% over the year.

Every other treasury company was well behind the index, and about 60% of them spent more acquiring BTC than those holdings are currently worth. Pioneers Strategy traded at more than double the value of its Bitcoin last year, but its shares are now at a 17% discount to NAV.

Smaller players like Sweden’s H100 Group trade at a 32% discount, Vanadi Coffee trades at a 61% discount to its BTC value, alongside five to six firms near parity, including Brazil-based OranjeBTC. Any modest equity selloff could push them below NAV and make them ripe for a takeover if Bitcoin’s price drop continues.

Echoes of distress, delisting on MSCI, and DATs dubbed rug pulls

Bitcoin treasuries are being blasted by some naysayers in the crypto community, who believe the companies’ buying spree led to a crypto market pull-down causality.

“Every single one of these companies is simply a pump N dump rug pull on their common shareholders. And no, preferred equities won’t save your shitty scheme when you don’t have a profitable underlying business, will not save your shitty stock. You should avoid any company that calls itself a ‘DAT’ or ‘Bitcoin treasury company’. Bunch of scammers and idiots tbh,” complained one user on X.

Some companies, seeing the whiplash of red mNAVs, are also stepping back, including Prenetics, a health-sciences firm that began buying Bitcoin in 2025. Cryptopolitan reported that it stopped adding coins on December 4 and will now focus on IM8, a nutritional supplement brand co-founded by former England football captain David Beckham.

“We are making disciplined strategic decisions that reflect our experience as operators and our commitment to maximizing long-term shareholder value,” Danny Yeung, Prenetics’s chief executive officer, said in a press release.

In other related news, index provider MSCI’s decision to exclude companies holding significant BTC reserves from its global benchmarks will be made on January 15. If the NYSE-listed company greenlights its exclusion, estimates from BTC for Corporations show the DATs would be forced to sell between $10 billion and $15 billion over a year.

BTC for Corporations, a group advocating corporate Bitcoin adoption, held discussions with MSCI leadership before 2025 came to a close. “We had a very constructive conversation,” said George Mekhail, the group’s executive director.