Crypto treasury model loses its edge as stock premiums fade: DWF

A DWF Ventures report published Thursday concluded that the crypto treasury model has largely lost the valuation edge that once let companies expand crypto holdings by issuing equity. The firm found that only four of the 20 largest digital asset treasury (DAT) companies trade at an mNAV above 1, meaning their market capitalizations exceed the market value of the crypto on their balance sheets. Those four are Bit Digital, Strive, Hyperliquid Strategies and BitMine. DWF said the industry’s widespread discounts indicate investors no longer pay the premiums they once did for crypto exposure via publicly traded entities. The report notes the premium effect was strongest when the approach was new and attracted significant investor attention — for example, Strategy’s mNAV peaked in late 2024 amid a Bitcoin rally that boosted demand for leveraged BTC exposure. Industry participants and analysts have warned about this vulnerability before. Standard Chartered highlighted the risk of an “mNAV collapse” in September 2025, and Galaxy Digital has argued the DAT model depends on a persistent equity premium to NAV. That premium is what lets firms issue shares and use proceeds to buy additional crypto without diluting existing shareholders; if shares trade below NAV, raising equity to accumulate crypto becomes dilutive and can undermine the model’s financing logic. The report’s findings come as some companies exit the strategy: French semiconductor firm Sequans Communications disclosed it sold its remaining 314 BTC, completing an exit that began with redeeming convertible debt in May and leaving the company with no crypto on its balance sheet. DWF also emphasized broader market context, noting Bitcoin’s large swings this year — from a record high above $126,000 last October to below $60,000 before recovering to roughly $86,000 — which have made sustaining the premium more difficult for many DATs.