Crypto treasuries turn to fringe tokens, raising volatility

By September 2025 there were at least 200 digital asset treasury (DAT) companies with a combined market value of about $150 billion, more than triple the number a year earlier. Many of the newest entrants are micro- or small-cap U.S. names inspired by Michael Saylor’s Strategy and encouraged by President Donald Trump’s crypto-friendly stance. But unlike the early DATs, which mainly bought bitcoin, the latest cohort is moving into niche tokens after bitcoin logged its first monthly drop since 2018 and the plain BTC-treasury story became harder to sell.

In recent weeks of November 2025 Greenlane said it would buy BERA, OceanPal said it would add NEAR because of the token’s AI features, and Tharimmune disclosed plans to hold Canton Coin. All three are Nasdaq-listed companies better known for non-crypto businesses, and all three are now pushing into tokens that trade in far shallower markets than bitcoin or ether. Moody’s Ratings analyst Cristiano Ventricelli said DATs are “expanding towards more exotic and less liquid cryptocurrencies,” and warned that equity pressure rises when those markets drop.

The pipeline that funds these purchases is also getting riskier. Since April, at least 40 DATs have raised more than $15 billion through private placements and PIPE deals, often at a discount to the market price. Only five of those fundraises were tied to bitcoin. The rest were used to buy smaller tokens or to support in-house projects such as SUI Group’s stablecoin launch. Heavyweight crypto investors — Winklevoss Capital, Galaxy Digital, Jump Crypto, Pantera Capital, Kraken and DWF Labs — have all appeared in these transactions, giving them legitimacy but also tying a large part of the sector to short lockups and potential resale once those lockups end.

That reliance on PIPEs is why so many DAT shares whipsaw when the broader market takes a hit. On Oct. 10, when tariff tension between the United States and China rattled crypto prices, BitMine, which holds ether, fell more than 11%, Forward Industries, which buys Solana and other tokens, fell more than 15%, and Strategy — the sector’s benchmark — still slipped nearly 5% despite using other financing methods. Analysts said that drop illustrated “a volatility pipeline”: discounted equity raises fund illiquid token buys, and any market shock hits both the stock and the token.

Some of the companies are already trading below the value of the crypto they hold. At least 15 bitcoin-treasury names were below net asset value as of Friday, reflecting investor skepticism that they can unload fringe tokens at stated prices if markets turn. Retail buyers, who were early supporters of Strategy and similar bitcoin-treasury stocks, have together lost around $17 billion on these trades, according to recent sell-side estimates. ETHZilla and Forward Industries have authorized share buybacks to prop up prices, while SUI Group’s Marius Barnett said the only way to keep investors interested is to “do interesting things,” not just sit on tokens.