The Rise of DAT: From Bitcoin Holding to Yield Management

Author: Sankalp Shangari, Translated by Shaw Jinse Finance

Abstract

Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) is a financial institution for on-chain "enthusiasts", so what are these companies becoming?

• Not just treasury reserves, but also programmable capital structures;

• Not just balance sheets, but also liquidity engines;

• Not just holders of cryptocurrencies, but also builders of crypto-native financial ecosystems.

• The corporate treasury department of the 2020s will look less like a traditional CFO's office and more like a hedge fund operating in real time, powered by blockchain, complete with APIs, vaults, and validators. They will process cross-border payments through stablecoins. They will invest capital in the ecosystems they help govern. They will issue tokens, establish special purpose vehicles (SPVs), and conduct macro hedges—all on-chain. Yesterday's DATs held Bitcoin. Today's DATs spin flywheels. Tomorrow's DATs will operate programmable capital machines. They will issue shares to buy ETH. They will use their nine-figure balance sheets to farm yield. They will stake governance tokens to shape ecosystems, and they will do so while reporting quarterly to Wall Street. They'll blur the lines between vaults, venture capital funds, and protocol operators until all that's left is printing your own yield curve. Welcome to a new era of capital formation, fueled by crypto, represented by equity, and managed by a mix of spreadsheets and smart contracts. In this summer of corporate showmanship, spreadsheets are gathering dust, and balance sheets are getting a digital makeover. The spectacle of public companies from around the world jettisoning prosaic capital plans for bold cryptocurrency bets is almost operatic. Forget R&D sprees or flashy product launches. This season's big story isn't new gadgets or services—it's fundraising, depositing the proceeds directly into cryptocurrency wallets, and letting the markets do the talking. From French chipmakers to Texas e-bike startups, the list of participants is diverse. This is your front-row ticket to the corporate crypto frenzy.

  Phase One - The Accumulation Era

  "A fallen cowboy once roamed the DeFi wilderness; now, Wall Street suits have entered the same field."

  • What Happened:

  • Since June, nearly 100 public companies have launched token purchase activities, raising more than $43 billion, twice the total funds raised by all U.S. initial public offerings (IPOs) in 2025.

  • MicroStrategy tops the list, holding 607,770 bitcoins (approximately $43 billion) on paper; Trump Media has invested $2 billion in Bitcoin and its derivatives.

  • Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) have evolved into "cryptocurrency vaults" (e.g., ReserveOne, Bitcoin Standard), providing retail investors with cutting-edge investment opportunities.

  • Why It Matters:

  • This isn't just about money management; it's about performance art performed with stock tickers. What began as fringe experiments (think of the "Summer of DeFi" in 2021) has now become mainstream finance in its tuxedo. This chart vividly illustrates the institutional shift underway in the Bitcoin market, a core thesis of DeFi Summer. Currently, over 11.17% of Bitcoin's market capitalization is held by institutions, with exchange-traded funds (ETFs) holding 6.52% and corporate treasuries holding 4.64%. What began as sporadic accumulation by a few bold companies in the first phase has morphed into a full-blown flywheel, particularly after 2023, with a surge in ETF inflows and a rise in Bitcoin's price. This shift reflects the second phase of "activation," where structured capital raised by Wall Street through ETFs and financings is driving liquidity, momentum, and narrative. The surge in ETF and corporate treasury holdings is more than just financial activity; it signals the institutionalization of Bitcoin as a balance sheet asset and capital markets tool. In short, this chart is the clearest evidence yet: Bitcoin has become a corporate asset class.
    

    Phase Two - Engineering Yield from Dormant Reserves

    “Buying Bitcoin is phase one. The real fun starts when you put it to work.” - Steve Kurz, Galaxy Digital

    • Yield Generation Strategies:

    • Staking and DeFi Liquidity: Firms are putting ETH and other tokens into DeFi protocols.

    • Structured Products and Options: Capital markets professionals are layering options overlays and basis trades on cryptocurrency holdings.

    • Governance Handbook: Vote in the Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) and stake governance tokens to influence the protocol roadmap.

    • On-chain Ecosystem: Build products that integrate enterprise treasury management into real-world application scenarios.

    

    
    

    • New Flywheel:

    • Publicly listed companies purchase tokens.

    • Token prices rise.

    • As net asset value increases, stock prices soar.

    • New shares or convertible bonds are issued.

    • The proceeds are redistributed into more tokens.

    • This process is repeated.

    

    • Why it’s different:

    • It’s a marriage of traditional capital markets and crypto innovation, fully regulated and liquid.

    • Companies like Galaxy Digital have helped raise $4 billion for cryptocurrency acquisitions, including custody, risk management, and yield infrastructure.

    Publicly listed companies now hold nearly 900,000 bitcoins, a 35% increase in just one quarter. A familiar sense of doubt, disbelief, and subversion.

    Some of the smartest people in the room were rolling their eyes:

    • “This is a bubble.”

    • “There’s no real demand for Ethereum (ETH) — why SBET?”

    • “If the flywheel stops turning, these crypto vault companies are finished.”

    Fair point. But remember: price changes perception, and time will tell.

    The same thing happens with DeFi tokens, NFTs, and even Bitcoin itself. If irrational enthusiasm creates real infrastructure, it won't die—it will continue to grow.

    Phase 3 - Premium Traps and Premium Rewards

    “Not everyone gets the same premium. Act early, don't be the first.” - Galaxy Digital

    • The Premium Phenomenon:

    1. Companies with large crypto reserve assets trade at an average premium of 73% to their on-chain assets.

    2. But the risk of saturation can cut into profits—if you’re the tenth person to enter the market, the market won’t react.

    • Regulatory and Market Changes:

    1. GENIUS & CLARITY Act: Spurring stablecoin competition; impacting Circle’s valuation ahead of its Q2 earnings report on August 12th.

    2. Ethereum as a Corporate Strategy: SharpLink Gaming’s 360,807 ETH reserves, up 110% this month, signal a new model for on-chain treasury. While Circle declines, Galaxy rises. Analysts call it an "integrated provider" for institutions, surpassing single-service firms like FalconX and NYDIG. The GENIUS and CLARITY Acts have boosted Galaxy's stablecoin custody and issuance, as well as its AI data center operations. Currently, over two-thirds of Galaxy's value comes from its infrastructure, such as the Helios facility (formerly Argo Blockchain), which currently hosts CoreWeave's AI and high-performance computing business. DAT meets computing: a vertically integrated architecture. A key driver behind this corporate cryptocurrency flywheel is the concept of mNAV, or market-based net asset value, which measures the real-time value of a company's cryptocurrency holdings relative to its stock market capitalization. When a publicly traded company accumulates a significant amount of cryptocurrency assets and their price rises, its mNAV increases significantly. The difference between the actual token value and the equity value becomes a tradable narrative. The market begins to price in not only operational value but also potential future token appreciation, often at a premium. This causes stock valuations to surge, enabling companies to issue more stock or convertible bonds on favorable terms, which they can then reinvest into buying more cryptocurrency. It's a self-reinforcing cycle: cryptocurrency reserves → higher mNAV → higher stock price → more capital → larger reserves. In this cycle, mNAV isn't just a valuation tool; it's the fuel that powers the next phase of growth. Survival Guide: Be Strategic: Don't just buy tokens—tailor financial products. Stay Flexible: Adjust incentives as regulations and earnings seasons evolve.

    3. Building Infrastructure: Beyond Hoarding; Launching APIs, Vaults, and Validators.

    DAT Summer or Corporate Casino?

    It started as a trickle—a few adventurous companies testing the crypto waters. Now it’s become a tidal wave, replete with filings, financial disclosures, and money flowing. Welcome to DAT Summer, where publicly traded companies aren’t just hoarding digital gold; they’re weaponizing it.

  • Yesterday’s DATs held Bitcoin.

  • Today’s DATs run self-reinforcing flywheels. Tomorrow's DATs will be programmable capital machines: issuing shares to buy ETH, farming yield through nine-figure balance sheets, and shaping ecosystems through governance. We've entered an era where the question is no longer whether corporations will hold cryptocurrencies, but how much, in what sectors, and what new tricks they'll come up with next. Whether this evolves into a new financial architecture or just the fanciest game of corporate roulette ever remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: the casino doors are open, and the chips are digital. Either this is a brand new financial architecture built on digital gold, or the fanciest game of corporate roulette ever. In any case, Wall Street this summer felt less like a strategy session and more like a casino filled with laser eyes and FOMO. Welcome to DAT Summer, where public companies aren’t just buying digital assets, they’re weaponizing them.