Digital asset treasuries entered 2026 under acute stress after a sharp market drawdown pushed Bitcoin and Ethereum nearly 30% lower in a single week. The move erased an estimated $25 billion in unrealized value across public crypto balance sheets, according to Artemis data, and forced investors to reassess the viability of treasury-first corporate strategies.
The drawdown pushed nearly the entire sector into losses simultaneously, shifting market focus from accumulation narratives to solvency and liquidity risks.
The losses remain unrealized, but their scale matters. Balance sheets weakened quickly, equity valuations compressed, and investor confidence faded. Firms that once benefited from rising token prices now face questions about capital access and long-term endurance in a tighter financial environment.
Markets Price In Survival Risk
One of the clearest indicators of stress sits in market net asset value, or mNAV. This metric compares a company’s equity valuation to the market value of its crypto holdings. During the bull phase, many DATs traded well above an mNAV of 1, which allowed them to raise equity capital efficiently and expand holdings. That dynamic reversed abruptly.
Most major crypto treasuries now trade below an mNAV of 1, meaning markets value their equity at a discount to their underlying assets. Strategy, the largest corporate Bitcoin holder, has seen its shares drop 45% in just one month, from $240 to $132. Despite holding tens of billions of dollars in Bitcoin, the company's shares are currently trading below the value of its crypto assets.
Risk increases when falling prices intersect with leverage, debt maturities, or persistent cash burn. Mining firms and treasury vehicles that rely on external financing face the highest exposure. Lower asset prices reduce equity value, restrict access to capital, and increase pressure on balance sheets. That dynamic creates a feedback loop that can accelerate stress if prices remain depressed.
For now, most DATs remain solvent. However, the margin for error is now as tight as ever.
Not Looking Rosy for Bitcoin Treasuries
Digital asset treasuries place a volatile asset on corporate balance sheets and finance further exposure through capital markets. The critical question centers on whether funding mechanisms can persist long enough for volatility to reverse.
As bitcoin price currently sits around $70,500, balance sheets diverge sharply based on entry points. Strategy holds 713,502 $BTC at an average cost of about $76,047, leaving it roughly $4 billion in unrealized losses. Tesla holds 11,509 $BTC at an average cost of $33,539, with about $425 million in paper gains. Coinbase holds 14,548 BTC at $71,465, about $14 million in the green.
Others sit deeply underwater. Metaplanet holds 35,102 BTC at $107,716, roughly $1.3 billion in losses. Trump Media holds 11,542 BTC at $118,529, around $554 million underwater. These disparities highlight how timing, leverage, and funding structure now matter more than headline exposure.
With Bitcoin generating no yield, weaker DATs face hard choices. Some began selling crypto to fund buybacks or service debt. Empery Digital started selling Bitcoin to fund share repurchases. Actions once viewed as unthinkable now appear pragmatic.
Solana Treasuries Fall Hard
The stress extends beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum. A roughly 40% drop in $SOL over the last 30 days pushed Solana-focused treasury companies deep into the red. The value of $SOL holdings dropped across several companies, according to Blockworks data. Sharps Technology’s treasury saw the largest decline at about 68%, followed closely by Solana Company at about 65%, and Forward Industries at about 64%. Upexi also experienced a significant reduction of about 47%, while DeFi Development Corp's holdings fell by about 42%.
Forward Industries, the largest publicly traded Solana treasury company, became a focal point in 2025 after securing a $1.65 billion private investment in a public equity round to pivot the business toward a Solana-centric treasury strategy, with Multicoin co-founder Kyle Samani appointed chairman.
The timing of Samani’s announcement that he would step back from Multicoin’s day-to-day operations drew scrutiny, with the price of $SOL having declined significantly over the past couple of months, and some observers claiming that the primary purpose of Forward Industries’ pivot was primarily an exit strategy and means to offload $SOL at more favorable prices.
When Does Holding Crypto Stop Being a Viable Business Model?
The pressure now centers on Strategy itself, the original and largest digital asset treasury, whose approach became the blueprint for nearly every DAT that followed. Strategy built its model around continuous Bitcoin accumulation financed through capital markets, and dozens of other treasury companies launched in its wake, assuming similar access to liquidity and investor tolerance for volatility. That assumption now faces its first sustained test as Bitcoin trades below the average entry price for many later adopters.
On its most recent earnings call, Strategy’s CEO Phong Le stated that the company could withstand Bitcoin falling to $8,000 and remaining there for 6 years without forcing liquidation, underscoring the scale of its USD reserves. Most newer treasuries do not share that resilience.
With thinner balance sheets, higher leverage, and fewer financing options, many could face rapid distress if prices remain depressed. If those firms begin to unwind positions to meet obligations, the selling pressure would likely ripple across the ecosystem, raising the risk that treasury failures, rather than spot markets alone, become the true capitulation event for altcoins.
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