Key Insights Web3 CFO Roundtable #4

Key Insights: Digital Asset Treasury Roundtable

At a recent roundtable, Alain Kunz, Head of Buiness Development EMEA at GSR , shared a comprehensive overview of Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) companies, outlining what they are, why investors allocate to them, and how the market has evolved through 2025.

He walked through the origins of the DAT model, highlighted major inflection points in market development, and illustrated how valuations have shifted over time, including the notable reversal from persistent premiums to material discounts versus mNAV. Looking ahead, he pointed to several defining trends, including consolidation across platforms, rising institutional participation, and a broader transition away from speculative momentum toward operational discipline and balance-sheet optimisation.

The presentation was followed by an in-depth Q&A session, covering the structural, strategic, and regulatory dimensions of the DAT landscape.

Management and governance

A recurring theme was the extent to which DATs outsource asset-management and operational functions. Many rely on external specialists to gain access to institutional-grade infrastructure, compliance-ready processes, and experienced execution teams. This approach can materially accelerate time-to-market while helping firms meet regulatory, audit, and reporting requirements that would otherwise be costly to build in-house.

Legacy structures and management quality

Participants noted a wide dispersion in management quality across the DAT universe. In many cases, legacy corporate structures, opportunistic capital issuance, and the need for rapid execution have shaped how these vehicles were formed.

Governance standards and transparency vary significantly, and in some cases can obscure embedded risks. This is not unique to DATs, but it reinforces a critical point: performance and resilience depend less on headline asset accumulation and more on leadership quality, disclosure practices, risk-management frameworks, and long-term strategic discipline.

Differentiation versus traditional investment vehicles

DATs differ meaningfully from traditional funds or ecosystem investment companies. While the latter typically pursue high-conviction projects, ecosystem development, or diversified exposure, DATs are structurally oriented toward maximising token ownership per unit of equity.

When this is achieved through equity issuance above mNAV, economic value is effectively transferred from new shareholders to existing ones. This dynamic is central to understanding both investor incentives and market behaviour around DAT capital raises.

Market evolution and strategic trends

The DAT market has moved well beyond its early phase, which was largely dominated by BTC-only treasury strategies. Today, vehicles increasingly hold a broader range of tokens and deploy more sophisticated approaches.

These include staking, DeFi-based yield strategies, and option-overlay programmes designed to monetise holdings. The shift reflects a move away from pure accumulation toward models that emphasise yield generation, capital efficiency, and strategic flexibility across market cycles.

Demand and supply dynamics

From an investor perspective, DATs provide regulated equity exposure to digital assets without the operational burden of direct custody. This structure appeals to both corporates and investors seeking familiar market access, while still capturing potential upside from price appreciation and yield.

Because regulatory requirements vary by jurisdiction, similar DAT structures may emerge in multiple markets for the same underlying assets. Examples such as Switzerland-based vehicles illustrate how competition can develop regionally, while broadening access for non-crypto-native investors through established equity-market infrastructure.

Yield generation mechanisms and associated risks

Yield-enhancing strategies are increasingly central to the DAT value proposition. Staking, on-chain deployment, DeFi lending, and option overlays can all improve returns, but they also introduce new layers of risk.

These include increased volatility, liquidity constraints such as lock-up periods, and exposure to regulatory uncertainty, counterparties, and protocol-level vulnerabilities. Effective risk assessment and disclosure are therefore critical differentiators.

Index inclusion considerations

Finally, index eligibility remains a key factor for institutional flows. Inclusion in major equity indexes can drive sustained demand, while exclusion can have the opposite effect.

MSCI is currently consulting on a proposal to exclude digital-asset treasury companies from its main equity indexes if more than 50 percent of total assets are held in crypto. If adopted, this would materially affect DATs with balance sheets that are predominantly digital-asset based, with potential implications for valuation, liquidity, and investor composition.

Overall, the discussion underscored a maturing DAT ecosystem, one increasingly defined by governance quality, strategic execution, and risk-adjusted capital management rather than headline exposure alone.