What is a DAT?

Digital asset treasury companies (commonly known as DATs) are publicly traded firms which accumulate cryptoassets as a core part of their business strategy. These companies hold significant sums of crypto on their balance sheets, affording investors indirect exposure by buying their stock through traditional brokerages.

The DAT model was pioneered in 2020 by Michael Saylor’s Strategy (formerly known as MicroStrategy), which pivoted from software development to become a vehicle for purchasing and stockpiling Bitcoin. Since then, the firm has accumulated over 700,000 BTC and seen its share price peak at +2,600%.

In the wake of Strategy’s success came a mass proliferation of new DATs, with more than 200 public companies now employing variations of the model, covering a dozen different cryptoassets.

Next, we’ll explore the structure and risks of this class of crypto investment vehicle.

Why do investors buy shares in DATs?

DATs offer a means for investors to gain cryptoasset exposure without the complexities and risks associated with self-custody. Rather than holding an asset like Bitcoin in their own wallet, or on a centralized exchange, they can instead invest in these Bitcoin proxy firms via traditional public markets.

Since DATs are bound by the same regulations and reporting requirements as any other publicly traded firm, they’re often seen as a more compliant avenue for crypto investments. This is especially significant for institutional investors — such as pension funds or corporate treasuries — whose mandates prohibit them from directly holding crypto, but do allow them to invest in public companies.

In addition, some investors may prefer DATs since they can actually outperform the price movement of the asset(s) on their balance sheets. This is because DATs typically utilize debt to fund new crypto purchases, meaning they offer a form of leveraged exposure. However, this means that DAT investments do have some added risk, since downside price movements can be likewise amplified.

How are DATs different from ETFs?

ETFs

While DATs and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) both offer crypto exposure in traditional financial wrappers, they are very different in structure. ETFs are regulated investment funds designed to track the price of the underlying asset (for example, Bitcoin).

When an investor puts money into an ETF, the issuer will make a corresponding purchase of BTC.
When the investor sells their ETF position, the issuer will likewise sell some of the underlying BTC in the fund.

ETFs are therefore passive investment vehicles: they hold cryptoassets on behalf of investors, with their price essentially pegged to that of the underlying asset.

DATs

DATs, on the other hand, are actively managed companies whose ultimate goal is to continually accumulate cryptoassets, irrespective of trading activity on their equity.

DATs utilize capital markets through equity, debt, or hybrid instruments to perpetually scale their holdings.
This means that DATs will often trade at a discount or premium compared to the value of their assets held, depending on the efficacy of their capital strategies.

One final differentiating factor is in how these two investment vehicles are formed. In the United States, ETFs are required to obtain SEC approval, which can be a lengthy process. In contrast, DATs can be created relatively quickly by converting an existing company which already trades on the Nasdaq or another major exchange.

During the boom of 2025, many firms which previously had no relation to crypto were rebranded into DATs via mergers.

What are NAV and mNAV?

Net asset value (NAV) represents the per-share value of a DAT’s crypto holdings. It’s calculated by taking its total assets, subtracting any liabilities, then dividing that figure by its total number of shares. This gives a baseline reference value for each share in the company.

NAV is the value used to determine whether the company’s shares are trading at an equity premium or discount.

For example, a NAV of $10 and market price of $18 means the share is trading at an 80% premium.
On the other hand, if the NAV remains at $10 but the stock drops to $8, then it’s trading at a 20% discount.

These premiums/discounts can be expressed as a percentage or as a multiple: mNAV (Multiple of Net Asset Value). A value above 1.0 represents a premium, while a value below 1.0 represents a discount.

An 80% premium would therefore be represented as 1.8.
Likewise, a 20% discount would be represented as 0.8.

A higher mNAV represents bullish market sentiment towards the stock, while an mNAV <1.0 implies bearishness. These figures are important for gauging the health of a DAT, because they directly impact its ability to access fresh capital.

How do DATs generate funds for buying crypto?

ATMs

Following the blueprint laid out by Strategy, most DATs rely on a self-perpetuating capital flywheel to fund their crypto purchases and growth. The most common method is by issuing new shares via an ATM (At-the-market Equity Program). In simple terms, the process goes:

During bullish times, DATs will trade at a premium to NAV.
The firm runs an ATM to issue new shares, selling them onto the market at set price levels.
The funds generated from these sales are used to purchase more crypto.

Since the equity is trading at a premium to the crypto holdings, the dilution is outweighed by the value of the assets gained. This means that, despite more shares being on the market, the NAV per share actually increases (known as “accretive dilution”). This in turn boosts the share price and equity premium even further.

This process can theoretically continue ad infinitum, as long as the DAT’s stock is trading at a premium over its holdings. However, this is not always the case. During market downtrends, when crypto prices are falling and market sentiment is negative, these premiums can evaporate (or in the most extreme cases, turn into discounts). This means that accumulation must slow or cease altogether.

In such cases, DATs have the option to run stock buyback programmes. This means using cash reserves, or selling off some crypto, to purchase their own stock from the open market, thereby bringing mNAV back above parity.

Additional revenue streams

To additionally hedge against these downtrends, some DATs have made efforts to establish functioning revenue streams. Some stake their proof-of-stake assets such as ETH or SOL to generate consistent yield, or deploy assets into DeFi protocols. The returns from these initiatives can be held to further boost NAV, or used to fund stock buybacks, dividends, or daily operations.

PIPE deals

Newer or smaller DATs will sometimes go direct to institutional investors for capital via PIPE deals (Private Investment in Public Equity). These deals see VCs or other entities offered shares in the DAT at a discount to market price, with an agreed lockup time. ATMs are generally preferred over PIPEs, as the latter can introduce more dilution and substantial selloffs when lockups expire.

How much crypto do DATs hold?

Of the 200+ DATs in existence, somewhere around 90% are focussed on BTC accumulation.
These firms combined hold over 1 million BTC on their balance sheets ( ~4% of total supply).

Ethereum is the second most popular, with several dozen DATs holding over 6 million ETH (~5%).
Solana comes in third with almost 16 million SOL held in DATs (~2.5%).

Recently, DATs focussed on a wider range of altcoins have emerged, covering XRP, DOGE, BNB, HYPE, ADA, AVAX and others. However, these are still dwarfed in size by the major BTC, ETH and SOL treasury firms.

What are the risks associated with DATs?

The most commonly cited concerns with DATs relate to their leveraged business model. It’s possible that some firms could collapse if their share price remained below NAV for an extended period of time, causing wider market contagion. These concerns can be broken down into a few key points:

Premium collapses: The DAT model can come under strain during market downtrends, when the price of its core asset is falling, and the stock price with it. This means that the equity premium — essential for issuing new shares and growing the balance sheet — drops to zero or negative. The firm can therefore no longer continue accumulating assets.
Stock buybacks: Using company funds to buy back equity from the market is a useful tool for bringing a struggling stock price back up towards NAV. However, since many DATs have little to no functional revenue, they may be forced to sell some of their assets in order to fund these buybacks.
Death spirals: Some analysts worry that if DATs begin thinning their balance sheets, investor confidence in the model might be damaged. This could lead to further downside pressure on their stock prices, forcing further asset sales, to fund further buybacks, essentially whittling them down to zero.
Wider knock-on effects: Given the large number of assets held by these firms, some analysts worry that the unwinding of multiple DATs could cause significant downward pressure on crypto prices. In response, some of the largest and longest-established DATs have issued statements claiming their capital reserves would allow them to weather such an event.