2025 Digital Asset Treasury Company (DATCo) Annual Report

Chainfeeds Guide:

How did DATCos grow from niche corporate experiments into a force spanning Bitcoin, Ethereum, and multiple altcoins, with a scale exceeding 130 billions USD?

Source:

Author:

CoinGecko

Opinion:

CoinGecko: Digital Asset Treasury Companies (DATCos) have become one of the most significant structural changes in the crypto space since 2020. Although in recent years, the market focus has mostly been on ETFs, memecoins, and new DeFi protocols, DATCos have rapidly risen to become a major force across Bitcoin, Ethereum, and various altcoins, evolving from niche corporate experiments into new market participants managing over 130 billions USD in assets. According to CoinGecko's 2025 DATCo report, publicly listed companies have begun to include crypto assets in their reserve asset allocations, and the rise of Strategy has brought unprecedented attention to pure DATCos. Digital Asset Treasury Companies first appeared in 2017, mostly driven by crypto mining firms. Strategy, established in August 2020, was the earliest pure DATCo and triggered a wave of subsequent "treasury-type listed companies." At the end of 2023, the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) introduced crypto accounting standards, allowing companies to measure crypto assets at fair value and include floating gains in profits, directly improving DATCos' financial statements. The pro-crypto policy stance of the Trump administration, along with the continued rise of BTC and other crypto assets, has also fueled Wall Street's capital inflow into the DATCo sector. Against the backdrop of weakening fiat purchasing power, rising inflation, and currency devaluation pressures, more and more companies—even those whose core business is unrelated to crypto—have begun to include BTC, ETH, and other digital assets in their reserves to hedge currency risks. From January 2020 to October 2025, the number of DATCos surged from just 4 to 142, with 76 established in 2025 alone. The earliest DATCo was Hut 8 Mining Corp, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2017, when DATCos were almost synonymous with "crypto mining companies." Strategy became the first pure DATCo in 2020, after which the model spread rapidly. As of the end of October 2025, DATCos held a total of 137.3 billions USD in crypto assets, a 139.6% surge from the beginning of the year. Among the 142 DATCos, 113 hold Bitcoin as their treasury asset, only 15 hold Ethereum, and 10 hold Solana. In USD terms, BTC accounts for 82.6% of DATCo holdings, ETH 13.2%, and SOL 2.1%. Geographically, the United States has 60 DATCos, accounting for 43.5%, Canada has 19, and China has 10. Although Japan has only 8, Metaplanet is the world's fifth largest DATCo and the largest outside the US. In 2025, DATCos spent at least 42.7 billions USD to purchase crypto assets, with more than half occurring in the third quarter. In Q3 2025 alone, at least 22.6 billions USD flowed into the market, of which 10.8 billions USD was used to purchase altcoin treasury assets. Bitcoin remains the main target, with DATCos purchasing at least 30 billions USD worth of BTC since the beginning of 2025, accounting for 70.3% of the year's total purchases. Ethereum ranks second, with at least 7.9 billions USD purchased throughout the year, 7.1 billions USD of which occurred in August when ETH hit a new all-time high of 5,000 USD. Among all DATCos, Strategy holds the largest crypto position, ranking first with 70.7 billions USD, accounting for about 50% of the industry's total holdings. BitMine Immersion ranks second, Sharplink fifth, and Forward Industries fourteenth; these three are the only altcoin treasury companies among the top 15, and all transitioned to DATCos after June 2025, showing extremely rapid expansion. Of the top 15, 7 are pure DATCos, and only 3 are crypto mining companies. Five of the top 15 are companies with treasuries but whose main business is not crypto-related; except for Tesla, the other four are still in crypto-related business fields. Strategy holds 3.05% of the global Bitcoin supply; BitMine Immersion holds 2.75% of the global Ethereum supply; Forward Industries holds 1.25% of the total Solana supply. In the stock market, most DATCos experienced sharp price increases within the first 10 days after announcing their transformation, followed by general pullbacks. For example, BitMine Immersion saw a surge of +3069% in 10 days, the most extreme case among all DATCos. However, these gains mostly benefited the earliest entrants, sparking discussions about insider trading and prompting investigations by the SEC and FINRA. The pullbacks were equally dramatic; for example, ALT5 Sigma's stock price fell 71% 44 days after announcing its DATCo status. Its WLFI token has also dropped 56% since its launch. [Original text in English]