Advisors and investors that consume enough financial media are apt to have heard about the trend of increasing corporate adoption of cryptocurrency, namely bitcoin and ethereum – the two biggest assets in the space.
That adoption takes various forms, but the one that’s really captivating market participants and crypto bulls is companies bringing bitcoin and ether into their corporate treasuries as an alternative to cash. Known as digital asset treasuries (DATs) more and more companies the world over are following the lead of Strategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) and bringing bitcoin into their corporate treasuries.
More recently, that phenomenon has carried over to ether. In fact, the largest owner of that digital currency is a company, not the Ethereum Foundation. Point is some public companies, Strategy being a prime example, now own so much bitcoin or ethereun that those firms are viewed as proxies on those cryptocurrencies. It’s almost as if investors don’t care much about the non-crypto business model.
The result is some investors allocate capital to shares of firms like Strategy as a way of getting proxy crypto exposure. Perhaps more important than that is the trend of professional investors driving cash to DATs.
Perusing Pantera’s Thoughts
Perhaps readers haven’t heard of crypto venture firm Pantera Capital, but in the DAT conversation, the firm is highly relevant because it believes DATs have the potential to outperform. Pantera is putting its money where its mouth -- $300 million to be precise.
“DATs can generate yield to grow net asset value per share, resulting in more underlying token ownership over time than just holding spot,” wrote General Partner Cosmo Jiang and Head of Content Erik Lowe in an Aug. 12 investor letter.
Pantera notes the $300 million it’s invested in DATs spans the U.S., the U.K. and Israel and is spread across companies that are deploying at least one of eight cryptocurrencies in their treasuries. BitMine Immersion (BMNR) is a prime example of what Pantera is looking for. That company, started by Tom Lee of Fundstrat, is aiming to gobble up 5% of Ether supply.
“Since BitMine launched their treasury strategy, they have become the largest ETH treasury and the third largest DAT globally (behind Strategy and XXI), holding a total of 1,150,263 ETH, worth $4.9 billion (as of August 10, 2025),” add Jiang and Lowe. “BMNR is also the 25th most liquid stock in the US, trading $2.2 billion per day (five-day trailing average basis as of August 8, 2025).”
Shares of BitMine have been on fire, helped by the same being true of ether – a rally that can be explained to three factors mentioned by Pantera. Those are as follows: (a) tokens per share, (b) underlying token price, and (c) multiple of NAV.
Of course, some (most) DATs are volatile. BitMine closed just $34 on June 30 before surging to $161. The stock closed at $61.63 on Aug. 13 amid 60.20% over the trailing week.
Why Pantera’s Insight Matters
As Strategy and BitMine prove, it’s not always a bump-free ride DAT investors. Strategy aside, it’s likely that over the near- to medium-term, most DATs will be small- and mid-cap firms. That’s not a knock. It’s just the reality of the current landscape.
“We expect that the growth story of the highest quality DATs will come to be appreciated by more institutional investors, just like what has happened with Strategy,” concludes Pantera.
For investors that need some convincing about why Pantera’s insight is relevant, consider this. The venture firm launched its first crypto firm in 2013 when bitcoin was trading at just $65.
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