An opinion piece by Mike Maloney, Chairman of digital asset infrastructure firm 21 Vault, argues that the initial "buy-and-hold" model for Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs) is insufficient and potentially risky. Maloney critiques companies that have raised capital to purchase cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and then simply held the assets, merging with public companies to offer stock exposure. He states this approach places corporate balance sheets at foreign exchange and management risks without generating a return on investment for shareholders.
Maloney contends that a pure hodl strategy is "leveraged speculation" based on the single assumption that crypto prices will always rise, leaving companies vulnerable to market downturns and potential regulatory reclassification as investment companies. Furthermore, he argues that idle crypto holdings do nothing to enhance liquidity, stability, or adoption in the broader ecosystem, failing to support critical infrastructure like Bitcoin's Lightning Network or fund development.
Instead, Maloney proposes a "DAT 2.0" model where companies leverage their crypto holdings to invest back into the ecosystem. For Bitcoin, this would involve strategic investments in mining, custody, payments, lending, and liquidity infrastructure. This approach, he argues, would diversify risk and contribute to the network's long-term growth, ultimately supporting price appreciation. He positions DATs 2.0 as a source of "slow capital" for the crypto economy, akin to the role banks play in traditional finance.
Concurrently, market data reveals a sharp bifurcation within the DAT sector. Analysis of market-to-net-asset-value (mNAV) ratios shows Japanese operator Metaplanet trading at a premium of 1.37x, with 35,102 BTC. This premium enables it to continue the accretive equity issuance and Bitcoin accumulation flywheel. In contrast, sector pioneer MicroStrategy (MSTR), holding 687,410 BTC with an average cost of $75,353, trades at an mNAV discount of 0.93x. Similarly, Semler Scientific (SMLR) trades at an 0.88x mNAV. This discount regime breaks the core DAT model, as issuing equity to buy more Bitcoin destroys per-share value.
The recent 11% increase in Vanguard's position in Metaplanet to 15.64 million shares is clarified as a mechanical index fund adjustment within its $573.7 billion Total International Stock Index Fund, representing less than 0.01% of the fund's assets, rather than an active endorsement of the DAT thesis.
The conclusion is that the DAT sector is not experiencing a uniform recovery but is instead bifurcated. Success is now tied to company-specific execution, favorable jurisdictions, and the ability to trade at a premium mNAV, rather than a broad-based market revival.
