Putting Digital Asset Treasuries on the Map

In just a few years, the idea of a digital asset treasury has gone from experimental to strategic. Today, organisations from purpose built blockchain-native foundations to traditional publicly traded firms hold digital assets on their balance sheets. The analytics platform DeepDAO reported that treasuries held by Decentralised Autonomous Organisations (DAOs) alone crossed $25 billion in total assets even back in March 2023, with around $22 billion in liquid holdings.

Crypto treasuries are gaining popularity worldwide, with Dutch crypto firm Amdax recently raising €30 million in a major funding round to establish the Amsterdam Bitcoin Treasury Strategy (AMBTS) — a new company dedicated to acquiring and managing large-scale Bitcoin reserves. The initiative sees Europe mirroring similar corporate treasury models seen in the U.S. and Asia.

Outside of the cryptocurrency industry, mainstream companies across fintech, gaming and payments increasingly hold stablecoins or native tokens to fund operations, hedge exposure, manage liquidity, facilitate on-chain payouts or for yield generation. Treasury token holdings have grown from a niche experiment to becoming sizeable line items on the balance sheets of well-known firms like Tesla and GameStop, as well as Governments. Multiple countries, including the US, China, the UK and Ukraine, have all accrued substantial Bitcoin holdings.

This trend reflects a structural shift in which digital assets are no longer just speculative but can provide above-average returns. Bitwise data suggests, for example, that a portfolio which contains 10% bitcoin could provide an annualised return of around 15% compared to around 6-7% for a more traditional portfolio made up of equities and bonds.

The Rise of DATs

In addition to companies managing their own crypto treasuries there has also been a significant rise in interest in investing via Digital Asset Treasury companies or DATs. A DAT manages, holds and strategically deploys digital assets – generally cryptocurrencies such as BTC and ETH – as part of its core balance sheet strategy. Much like a traditional corporate treasury manages cash, reserves and investments, a DAT focuses on optimising exposure to digital assets for yield generation, liquidity management and long-term value. DAT companies now exist. CoinGecko tracks 121 institutions with total holdings worth $174 Billion, representing 7.22% of Bitcoin’s total supply.

Why are DATs growing?

Digital Asset Treasury companies have become so popular because they professionalise the management of crypto balance sheets, turning the volatility and complexity of digital assets into structured, investable financial strategies.

As digital assets have matured, institutional investors are seeking different means of exposure to them but without directly wanting to manage wallets or tokens. As an alternative to buying units in a cryptocurrency Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF), DATs can offer access and effective diversification across multiple digital instruments without the need to curate an individual portfolio.

Through staking, lending and liquidity provisioning, DATs can generate returns that often outperform traditional treasury yields, attracting both corporate and institutional investors. Geopolitics is also a factor – with fiat currencies, especially the US dollar, under pressure, DATs appeal to investors wanting to hedge against inflation and gain exposure to the digital asset ecosystem. DATs are looking to position themselves as trusted intermediaries bridging traditional and digital finance, although – like any investment -investing in DATs entails risks that need to be carefully assessed and managed.

Existing in a more competitive landscape

The market for DATs is evolving, however, and several of the early-stage advantages that once justified higher valuations are starting to erode. In the early stages, DATs offered investors one of the few regulated, public ways to gain exposure to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital assets. Shares, therefore, traded at a premium to the value of their underlying holdings. Now, with multiple spot crypto ETFs being approved and institutional custody solutions available, there is a wider variety of options to consider.

Previously, limited availability of regulatory-ready digital asset offerings, lower risk appetite and restricted share creation/redemption mechanisms created supply–demand imbalances that inflated DAT prices. As liquidity and transparency improved, arbitrage opportunities closed, pushing valuations back in line with net asset value (NAV).

As staking and lending yields have fallen, DATs’ ability to generate excess returns has also weakened. Simultaneously, investors have grown more cautious about counterparty, liquidity and regulatory risks, leading to more conservative pricing. The proliferation of competing digital asset funds, ETFs and structured products also means that DATs are no longer seen as unique vehicles. They now compete on fees and performance like any other asset manager.

During bull markets, DATs benefited from speculative enthusiasm that likely inflated valuations.  As the market has become more efficient, competitive, and mature, investors are now valuing these companies based on actual asset performance and yield, rather than on scarcity or hype.

Safety Matters

Despite the fall in valuations, as treasury volumes grow, so does the need for secure, compliant and flexible custody. Digital asset custodians are moving beyond simple storage to offer enterprise-grade services including segregated wallets and multi-signature access to meet governance and audit standards; integrating DeFi and staking options safely; and regulatory assurance, since digital asset treasuries must comply with evolving frameworks around reporting, taxation and proof-of-reserve requirements. Custodians are becoming financial infrastructure providers, combining security engineering, compliance and treasury management all in one stack.

The New Standard for Institutional Crypto Management?

Tomorrow’s crypto treasuries are set to be multi-asset, multi-chain and multi-jurisdictional. The winners in this market will be those that deliver real-time liquidity without compromising security, offer interoperability with traditional finance systems and provide transparent governance tools aligned with corporate risk policies. Overall, the rise of crypto treasuries signals a deeper integration of blockchain into corporate finance. For all of those organisations participating, it’s a mandate to evolve.