We have seen louder fashions come and go, but rarely such corporate fashion. In 2025, DATs, these companies which put Bitcoin or other crypto-assets at the heart of their treasury, have multiplied at an almost suspicious speed. And already, some crypto sector leaders are talking about 2026 as a narrow corridor, where many will not pass.
In brief
- DATs exploded in 2025 by transforming Bitcoin into a cash showcase, but the model already shows its flaws as soon as the price falters.
- In 2026, many risk being taken out at the first real drawdown, especially those who accumulate without strategy or discipline.
- To survive, DATs will have to move from storytelling to performance and professional infrastructure, while facing competition from crypto ETFs.
The crypto cash rush, business version
The figure is brutal and tells it all. According to Ryan Chow of Solv Protocol, we would have gone from around 70 companies buying and holding Bitcoin at the start of 2025 to more than 130 by the middle of the year. Growth that looks like runaway growth, not cautious adoption.
Why this frenzy? Because a balance sheet boosted by Bitcoin is a dream. It attracts attention. It simplifies storytelling. “We accumulate,” period. Except that a narrative, even well packaged, does not replace a cash flow strategy.
And this is precisely where the crack appears. The leaders cited describe a mechanism under pressure. When the price wavers, the actions of these players falter, and the crypto model becomes more fragile than it appears.
The market does not forgive showcase treasuries
Altan Tutar sums up the atmosphere without poetry. 2026 looks gloomy. Field translation: if you are just a safe hoping that BTC will go up forever, you are playing a coin toss with your box.
Ryan Chow says it differently, but the substance is the same. A Bitcoin treasury is not a magic solution to infinite dollar growth. And many would be unlikely to survive the next real drawdown.
We got a glimpse of it in December. Bitcoin briefly fell to around $84,398, and the volatility has reignited the topic of this roller coaster of valuation, which complicates financing and confidence. At that point, those who had turned the accumulation into marketing operations sometimes find themselves selling, just to cover their costs. This is the most common scenario. And the most toxic.
Performance, discipline and the tug of war against ETFs
The interesting thing is that the execs don't say: everything is going to collapse. They say: the model must mutate. The winners, according to Tutar, will be those who add real value beyond inventory. Products. Mechanisms that generate regular returns, and which redistribute part of it to stakeholders.
Vincent Chok puts his finger on the silent enemy: crypto ETFs. For many investors, they offer regulated, simple, and increasingly competitive exposure. Bottom line: if DATs want to compete, they need to speak the TradFi language. Transparency, auditability, compliance, professional infrastructure.
Chow takes the logic further. Treat Bitcoin as active digital capital, integrated into a return strategy. He cites the use of on-chain instruments to produce a more sustainable yield, or of collateralized assets to access liquidity when the market falls. In short: stop putting BTC on a shelf and call it finance.
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