The end of easy money for crypto treasuries
I’ve been watching this trend develop over the past few months, and it’s becoming clearer that something fundamental is shifting. Crypto treasury companies, those vehicles that basically just hold digital assets and wait for appreciation, are hitting their first real stress test. The numbers tell a story that’s hard to ignore.
Back in October, about 15% of these companies were trading below their net asset value. That means investors were valuing them at less than what their crypto holdings were actually worth. By January, that figure jumped to nearly 40%. That’s a significant shift in sentiment, and it suggests the old playbook isn’t working anymore.
From passive holding to active participation
The early days were different. There were only a handful of recognizable names, and novelty created powerful feedback loops. Metaplanet, for instance, saw its market-to-NAV ratio hit over 9x earlier this year. But that momentum seems like a distant memory now. Several treasury companies, including Metaplanet, are underperforming the value of the crypto they actually hold.
Temporary rebounds might still happen. Strategy’s ratio recovered from below one to nearly four during the 2024 upswing. But these look more like cyclical bounces than structural recoveries. Without real change, these companies will just keep oscillating with the broader crypto market.
I think the core issue is becoming clearer: crypto assets aren’t inherently valuable. They become valuable when used productively. Bitcoin treasuries face natural limits because Bitcoin’s programmability is restricted. But Ethereum, Solana, and other programmable networks offer tools to deploy capital in more creative ways.
Building real businesses, not just balance sheets
At a basic level, treasury companies can stake, collateralize, and provide liquidity. These activities generate yield and strengthen ecosystems. But the more ambitious players are going further. They’re developing operational ecosystems that use their capital as fuel for innovation.
One path is infrastructure operations. Running validators, RPC nodes, or data indexers converts treasury scale into a performance advantage. Capital depth allows for faster, more reliable infrastructure that attracts more users and projects. Another approach is protocol participation—supplying liquidity, creating markets, and earning fees while supporting network throughput.
Staking rewards and passive yield can keep a treasury solvent, but they can’t sustain investor confidence. To attract durable capital, these companies need to start operating like real businesses. Berkshire Hathaway’s model offers a useful reference point—an investment vehicle that also builds and acquires productive operations.
In crypto, sustainable models require similar operational layers. A treasury company might acquire infrastructure businesses that benefit from its asset scale, like validators or middleware providers. It could build proprietary tools that monetize its holdings, such as trading platforms or data analytics products.
The role of foundations and future outlook
Blockchain foundations are starting to recognize that scaled treasury companies can accelerate ecosystem growth. They have both capital and operational flexibility, making them natural partners for foundations seeking to strengthen liquidity and network activity.
Some foundations are already providing support. They might sell assets at discounts to bolster initial market-to-NAV ratios, helping treasury vehicles attract investors early on. Others offer marketing support or community exposure. The most forward-thinking foundations facilitate direct integrations, encouraging treasury companies to deploy capital into their networks’ liquidity pools or validator sets.
This relationship could be mutually reinforcing. For non-profit foundations, decentralized autonomous treasuries act as a de facto for-profit execution arm. The foundation retains alignment through token holdings, while the treasury company gains freedom to experiment commercially.
The compression of market-to-NAV ratios marks the end of the easy-money phase. Hype isn’t enough to maintain valuations anymore. These companies will need to prove that crypto assets can underpin superior business models—models that generate recurring revenue, support ecosystem growth, and justify investor confidence even in flat markets.
The adjustment will be painful, but perhaps necessary. Markets are maturing, and investors now expect operational depth, governance transparency, and clear pathways to sustainable yield. The companies that deliver on these fronts won’t just survive the current downturn—they might actually define the next phase of mainstream crypto adoption.
