DAT Model Fades as Investors Lose Appetite for Premiums

The model behind Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) companies is showing signs of weakness. These firms hold cryptocurrencies and finance additional buys by trading at a premium to their holdings, but that advantage has started to fade. According to a report from DWF Ventures, among the 20 largest DATs by assets under management, only four trade above their crypto value.

For the rest of the cohort, the market values their equity below the value of the crypto they hold, signaling that the typical 'equity premium' narrative is no longer broadly supported. DWF attributes this shift to investor behavior: where earlier demand helped these stocks command premiums, current discounting suggests capital markets participants are less willing to pay extra for crypto exposure through a treasury structure rather than simply owning the underlying asset.

The strategy's origin and performance have mattered. DAT branding grew around a model associated with Michael Saylor's Strategy, which pioneered the Bitcoin treasury approach in 2020. However, even for companies that did manage to outperform in certain periods, DWF says the edge over holding the cryptocurrency itself has generally been small.

The premiums investors paid for DAT stocks were not constant over time. The firm points to a pattern where the 'equity premium to NAV' was strongest when investor attention surged and leverage demand for Bitcoin was elevated.