Crypto Treasury Firms Chase AI Gains as Investor Enthusiasm Fades
The collapse of the crypto treasury trade is pushing struggling public companies toward the market’s newest source of investor enthusiasm: artificial intelligence.
According to a new Bloomberg report, at least a dozen digital-asset treasury (DAT) firms have shifted into AI-related ventures in recent months as token prices and their own valuations declined. Early results have been bleak.
K Wave Media, once focused on accumulating bitcoin, has fallen 71% since turning toward data center development in May. Lixte Biotechnology has lost 33% since agreeing to merge with a battery company in June. Alphaton Capital, previously a holder of alternative cryptocurrencies, is down 33% since rebranding as Alpha Compute in April. Industry observers reckon that most digital-asset treasury firms are either moving into AI or dying a slow death.
Crypto Treasury Premiums Disappear
Digital-asset treasury companies raised capital and issued stock to buy cryptocurrencies, hoping their shares would trade at a premium to the value of those holdings.
The model flourished as token prices climbed. It began to unravel once many companies fell below the net value of their crypto reserves.
U.S. and Canadian treasury stocks tracked by Bloomberg have posted a median decline of 43% this year. With bitcoin posting a 49% decline from its October peak and ether dropping 62% from its August 2025 record, companies are instead exploring data centers, space businesses and small nuclear reactors.
Even Strategy, which popularized the model under Michael Saylor, has suffered. Its shares have fallen 81% from their 2024 record, while the company has reduced its bitcoin holdings.
Miners Have a Stronger Route Into AI
The rush toward AI mirrors earlier corporate attempts to attach themselves to popular themes, from dot-com names in the 1990s to blockchain pivots in the following decades.
Yet bitcoin miners may have a more credible path. Their power contracts, land and data centers can often be adapted for high-performance computing.
Coreweave began as a miner before becoming a cloud-computing provider. It now has a market value of about $40 billion, with its shares up 80% since its March 2025 initial public offering.
Hut 8, Iren and Terawulf have also attracted investors after redirecting capacity toward AI workloads. For treasury companies without comparable infrastructure, a new name may not be enough.
“I think DATs, as we’ve seen them, are probably done,” said Daniel Forman, a partner at Lowenstein Sandler.