Pantera Capital has invested more than $300 million in digital asset treasury (DAT) companies, which are public firms that hold large amounts of cryptocurrencies and aim to grow the number of tokens they own per share.
In its latest blockchain letter, the firm explained that these companies don’t just buy and hold crypto. They use different strategies to earn more tokens over time, which Pantera believes can offer better returns than simply holding coins or investing through a crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Cosmo Jiang, General Partner at Pantera, said the firm recently raised two DAT-specific funds, which together collected over $100 million from investors. He added that no decision has been made yet about launching a third fund.
Pantera’s DAT investments include eight cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, BNB, Toncoin, Hyperliquid, Sui, and Ethena. All the companies are in the U.S., the UK, and Israel. These companies are BitMine Immersion, Twenty One Capital, DeFi Development Corp, SharpLink Gaming, Satsuma Technology, Verb Technology, CEA Industries, and Mill City Ventures III.
One of Pantera’s biggest investments is BitMine Immersion, which recently launched an Ethereum-focused treasury strategy. In just one month, BitMine became the largest ETH-holding treasury and the third-largest DAT worldwide, now holding 1.15 million ETH worth about $4.9 billion.
Its stock price has jumped from $4.27 at the end of June to $51 in early August. Pantera says it is mostly driven by growth in ETH-per-share rather than just the ETH price rally.
BitMine increases its ETH-per-share via issuing premium shares, earning staking rewards, and perhaps using mechanisms like convertible debt. Pantera compares this to how top banks trade above their book value when investors believe they can generate strong returns. The firm’s long-term goal, dubbed The Alchemy of 5%, is to accumulate 5% of all ETH in circulation.
Pantera thinks Ethereum will be one of the biggest trends in the next decade. More financial institutions are shifting to blockchain, especially for tokenization and stablecoins, which mostly run on Ethereum. This growing demand is likely to make more institutions hold and stake ETH, helping its value grow over time.
