Cryptocurrency Treasury Companies Flood Wall Street in 2025

Source: PortaldoBitcoin Original Title: History of 2025: Cryptocurrency Treasury Companies Flood Wall Street Original Link: Will cryptocurrency buying companies become a pillar of Wall Street, or will they be remembered only as another passing fad, echoing previous market expansion and recession cycles?

This question has come to the forefront in recent months, as a long list of companies that collectively raised billions of dollars to accumulate digital assets saw their stock prices plummet after a wave of changes and mergers earlier this year.

Whether NFTs or meme coins, speculation hotspots emerge with each market rally, creating periods of euphoria that inevitably fade away. This year, the novelty of cryptocurrency treasury companies lost its charm as several members of the latest sector wave found themselves under pressure, although many still argue that their approach to reshaping the traditional financial landscape is unique.

Several cryptocurrency buying companies that entered the public market this year adopted similar strategies, accumulating everything from Dogecoin to Tron. Still, atypical companies like GameStop put their own spin on the game.

As the year progressed, industry leaders adapted to an increasingly competitive market, issuing new types of securities to add to their stock. However, some of their most popular tools lost effectiveness as some emerging competitors were acquired.

In a way, the future may be uncertain for cryptocurrency treasury companies, but amid a favorable regulatory environment, it seems more of them will enter the market. In any case, this year may be remembered as the moment when the trend peaked, giving rise to a new class of investments for institutions and individuals to explore.

Regulatory Change

A shift in regulatory leadership in the US likely enabled the emergence of more cryptocurrency treasury companies. Instead of resorting to a lengthy initial public offering (IPO), many cryptocurrency treasury companies emerged from reverse mergers, a process subject to regulatory approval.

The Role of mNAV

If hundreds of publicly traded companies start buying Bitcoin simultaneously, how can investors distinguish winners from losers? The sector’s simplest answer was mNAV (net asset value multiple), an informal metric that has become a popular benchmark for assessing a company’s value relative to its cryptocurrency holdings.

Typically, mNAV is calculated by dividing the market value by the net value of cryptocurrency holdings, resulting in a multiple that reflects a premium or discount. Some companies calculate mNAV using enterprise value instead of market value, taking into account debt and available cash.

This multiple is crucial for gauging market sentiment and is essential for one of the most popular capital raising approaches. When mNAV is positive, the company can issue common stock to buy Bitcoin, increasing its holdings per share. Many startup companies adopted this metric as their guiding principle.

Many cryptocurrency treasury companies saw their mNAVs soar initially, but their stock prices eventually fell below the value of their cryptocurrency holdings, limiting their ability to capitalize on premiums that existed months ago.

Different Strategies

No one considers Tesla a cryptocurrency treasury company, but the automaker has held 11,500 Bitcoins on its balance sheet for several years.

The same can be said for GameStop, which announced the purchase of 4,710 Bitcoins in May. After spending US$512 million on the asset, these reserves were worth US$438 million at the beginning of December. GameStop’s CEO stated from the outset that the company “is not following anyone’s strategy” when it comes to accumulating Bitcoin.

Bitcoin was not adopted by the seven largest companies in the sector, but about 200 publicly traded companies now hold Bitcoin on their balance sheets. About two dozen own Ethereum.

An increasing number of cryptocurrency buying companies has made it harder for companies to differentiate themselves while reducing the visibility of established firms. The proliferation of these companies has led to fragmentation of attention and liquidity, with expectations of mergers and acquisitions in the sector.

Beyond Bitcoin

This year, it seemed that any company could become a cryptocurrency treasury company. This includes companies specializing in toy production and theme park products that accumulate Tron.

Holding digital assets on a company’s balance sheet was not so easy. In 2023, a company called Lucy Scientific Discovery adopted Bitcoin and Ethereum as treasury reserve assets but later abandoned the plan.

Some companies are accumulating other cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin. AlphaTON Capital is developing and accelerating businesses within blockchain network ecosystems, from DeFi and gaming to commercial applications.

Many cryptocurrency treasury companies are leveraging staking — committing a certain amount of native tokens of a blockchain network to the network itself in exchange for rewards. By participating in transaction validation processes on proof-of-stake networks, many companies have managed to use their assets to generate additional revenue.

The Uncertain Future

At the end of the year, the future looked increasingly uncertain for many cryptocurrency buying companies. With mNAVs showing discounts, their ability to raise capital for many new companies was limited.

Still, some companies remained committed to accumulating digital assets with specific goals. If the hype around cryptocurrency treasury companies continues to fade, sector giants might consider lending their bitcoins as an additional revenue source, an option that may not be feasible for cryptocurrency buying companies that made their first purchase just a few months ago.