Crypto asset management firm CoinShares (CS) said the digital asset treasury (DAT) bubble has all but burst, with some companies that were trading at 3x to 10x market net asset value (mNAV) in summer 2025 now trading at around 1x or less, and that the trades that once priced token treasury like growth engines have suddenly reset.
The next move will depend on action, either the price drop triggers a chaotic sell-off or companies hold balances and wait for a rebound, James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares, said in a blog post on Thursday.
Butterfill said he is leaning toward the latter, citing an improving macro environment and the possibility of a rate cut in December that could support cryptocurrencies.
mNAV compares a company’s enterprise value (EV), which is its market capitalization and debt minus cash, to the market value of its Bitcoin holdings. Strategy, Inc., the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, currently has an mNAV of approximately 1.13.
The bigger challenge, Butterfill said, is structural. Investors’ tolerance for dilution and single-asset concentration with no real operating income has eroded since credibility has been eroded by a wave of companies using the public markets to build large treasuries without building durable businesses.
The report said there are early signs of a saner approach as saner companies add Bitcoin as disciplined financial and exchange controls.
Butterfill said the DAT concept is not dead enough to be reclassified, and investors are likely to draw a clearer line between speculative financial wrappers, disciplined financial strategies, token investment vehicles and strategic companies.
The next generation will need fundamentals, trusted business, tighter governance and realistic expectations, and digital assets are a tool, not the be all and end all, the report added.
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