After Bitcoin Treasuries, several other Digital Asset Treasuries have emerged for top cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, Solana, Ton, and several others. These treasuries not only help companies invest in the top growing cryptocurrencies but also tend to stabilize the markets, which then helps retail buyers too.
In this article, we will explore the trends in the Digital Asset Treasury markets and understand the growing trend among companies, HNIs and governments to establish crypto treasuries. We will also explore the top players active in the altcoin treasury space.
Please note that this article will focus on Digital Asset Treasuries excluding Bitcoin. For Bitcoin Treasuries, you can read our comprehensive coverage on the topic below.
What is an Digital Asset Treasury?
A Digital Asset Treasury is a crypto reserve created by companies, individuals or governments to invest on a single cryptocurrency. The focus of the reserve is to buy and sell assets (like Bitcoin or Ethereum) in a way that maximizes yield.
Currently, the global Digital Asset Treasury market is dominated by Bitcoin with a smaller portion of the market focusing on altcoins. Among these altcoins, Ethereum has the highest dominance with others like Solana and Toncoin being smaller players.
The treasuries are different from investment trusts such as Grayscale XRP Trust due to two major reasons. Treasuries typically fund asset purchases with their own money or with borrowed funds, whereas trusts sell their shares in the market for funds (exceptions like MicroStrategy exist which fund its purchases partially by stock sale). Second, the treasuries cannot apply for conversion into ETFs because they are incorporated as private companies or as a part of a company, whereas trusts are registered as trusts, a separate type of legal entity.
The Rise of MicroStrategy: How It Became World’s Largest Corporate Bitcoin Holder
Why DATs Could Dominate Crypto Narratives till 2050?
As cryptocurrencies market mature, they are getting more attracted towards real returns and projects that have real world utility. Assets that do not offer real returns in the long term like NFTs and Memecoins often get wiped out from the markets.
Take a look at the memecoin market cap (shown below) which lost its attraction since Jan 2025 due to a lack of buyers.
A Digital Asset Treasury on the other hand is expected to perform in the long run because of the way cryptocurrencies are picked for their utility.
- Bitcoin has been picked due to it being a substitute for Gold, with far higher returns, superior technology, censorship resistance, and universal acceptance.
- Ethereum has been picked due to its central role in the future of finance, i.e., DeFi markets. It also plays a major role in the RWA markets.
- Solana has been picked due to its strong ability to process high speed transactions and provide a high network availability. The latter was tested to the extreme at 100k TPS during the Trump Memecoin launch (Jan 18-19, 2025).
- XRP is also popular due to its strong ability to process fast cross border transactions with minimal fees.
Several other cryptocurrencies have seen their DATs getting established like Toncoin, Chainlink, etc., however, that is beyond the scope of this article.
Are Bitcoin Treasuries Heading Towards a Bubble like the Dot Com or Housing Crisis?
Factors in Support of DATs Global Rise
Proven Cases
Among the most successful cases of Digital Asset Treasury model are MicroStrategy and Druk Holdings, the first created its treasury with debt while the second found Bitcoin mining as its way to fund the treasury. There are other examples such as El Salvador, Riot Platforms, MARA Holdings, and Metaplanet.
Among Ethereum Treasuries, SharpLink Gaming has emerged as a key player, becoming the largest public Ethereum holder by 2025.
Regulatory Approvals
Since Bitcoin has been granted legal status very recently, the treasury model of creating Bitcoin Reserves has picked up pace in the last couple of years. With proper regulations, there is enough clarity on taxation, bankruptcy, debt, and compliances.
Global Economic Environment
Bitcoin Treasuries picked up pace because of an uncertain global economy where the inflation was at a high, economic activity declining, loss of jobs, and rising layoffs among corporates.
All of these left little choice to invest funds. Hence, cryptocurrencies based Digital Asset Treasuries succeeded.
Low Bond Yield
Bonds, especially AAA category bonds, are considered safest investments. However, they too have been suffering due to high inflation, and had been giving negative returns post COVID.
Digital Asset Treasuries provided a high growth investment opportunity though assets that have global demand and universal acceptance, like Bitcoin.
Rising Demand for Gold
Uncertain economic situations always raise the price of Gold due to high demand. However, given the current size of the world economy, there isn’t enough gold. Therefore, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum which provide similar features (universal acceptance, decentralized control) offer alternatives to gold demand.
Bitcoin vs Gold: The End of Gold’s Reign for the Next Generation?
Peaked Stock Market Returns
After the stock market recovery in 2009, there has been very little crash or correction. As a result, unrealized gains in stock markets are at a peak, with stocks being sold beyond reasonable valuations. Expecting a market crash, investors seek to diversify in other asset, where cryptocurrencies have emerged as the top choice lately.
Top Players in the Altcoin Digital Asset Treasury Sector
Here are some of the top players in the altcoin Digital Asset Treasury sector. We have kept the names of only top players in our list for the sake of brevity.
SharpLink Gaming
SharpLink Gaming has emerged as the largest public Ethereum holder after it bought ETH consistently in 2024-25. The treasury is backed by MetaMask creator Consensys.
DeFi Development Corp
DeFi Development Corporation is one of the largest Solana Treasury holders and besides creating the treasury, it also earns additional returns via staking, liquidity farming, and running validator nodes for the Solana Blockchain.
Upexi
Upexi is a non-native corporate treasury holder which focuses on Solana. The company seeks to invest in SOL to diversify its assets.
