The next crypto winter could start with DATs

The crypto world has been awash in a torrent of bad news as coin prices and trading volumes fall. The worst could be yet to come, though, thanks to digital asset treasuries (DATs).

Made popular by US-based Strategy, and more recently in Asia by Metaplanet, DATs are publicly traded companies that give anyone with a brokerage account easy exposure to cryptocurrency.

Image credit: Arsal Ysfin

While much of the crypto world applauds this approach, the share prices for DATs have taken a tumble as the value of the cryptocurrencies they hold drops. In the worst-case scenario, this could cause huge sell-offs and the kind of panic and market collapse the industry experienced during the FTX meltdown.

In fact, Omid Malekan, a lecturer at Columbia Business School, says DATs played a key role in the downturn. He called them a “mass extraction and exit event” rather than vehicles for long-term value creation.

If the DAT bubble does burst, Asia could be caught in the blast, just as the region is trying to build trust and legitimacy in crypto.

The ABCs of DATs

DATs acquire digital assets for their own treasuries, mostly major tokens like bitcoin and Ethereum. But as the value of these cryptocurrencies slide, more DATs have started buying unconventional altcoins like Bera and Story’s IP token in search of higher returns.

In essence, by holding shares of a DAT, users receive exposure to the underlying crypto asset that the DAT has on its balance sheet.

In 2025, these treasuries have raised more than US$20 billion in equity capital, while the largest bitcoin DATs hold more than 10% of the total bitcoin supply. Crypto natives see this growth as a positive, since DAT mandates require the constant buying of these assets, a dynamic that benefits existing holders.

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DATs typically begin as small, publicly listed companies with low market capitalizations. As they’re cheap to acquire, they are attractive targets for groups that want to buy a controlling stake, take over management, and then pivot the company toward crypto-related activities.

The listed entity becomes a sort of equity wrapper for the underlying crypto asset.

As a DAT, it raises new proceeds from equity markets, which are then used to acquire crypto assets to be held on the DAT balance sheet.

These treasuries seek returns and pay dividends based on the crypto they hold increasing in value. Essentially, they’re betting that the market keeps climbing.

When DATs take a tumble