Discussions about Bitcoin’s recent price decline should also consider the role of crypto treasury companies, according to Omid Malekan, blockchain author and adjunct professor at Columbia Business School.
“Any analysis of why crypto prices continue to fall needs to include DATs [digital asset treasuries],” Malekan wrote in an X post on Tuesday. “In aggregate, they turned out to be a mass extraction and exit event — a reason for prices to go down.”
Malekan noted that only a handful of firms have made genuine efforts to “create sustainable value,” adding, “I can count them on one hand.”
While analysts have largely attributed the market downturn to U.S.-China trade tensions and broader macroeconomic pressures, Malekan argues that internal factors like treasury management have also amplified the decline.
Over the past week, Bitcoin has traded between $99,607 and $113,560, down from its Oct. 6 all-time high above $126,000, according to CoinGecko.
Many companies entering the crypto treasury space may be doing so for the wrong reasons, according to Omid Malekan, blockchain author and adjunct professor at Columbia Business School.
Malekan argued that several firms behind digital asset treasuries (DATs) raised millions from investors eager for crypto exposure but were primarily motivated by profit rather than sustainability. “Some of the people launching crypto treasury companies saw the model as a get-rich-quick scheme,” he said.
“Launching any kind of public entity is expensive,” Malekan added. “The money required for the shell, PIPE, or SPAC runs into the millions — as do the fees paid to bankers and lawyers. That money had to come from somewhere.”
These firms have amassed large holdings of top cryptocurrencies, often using leverage through share sales, convertible notes, and debt offerings. Analysts warn that such leverage could intensify market declines if these companies are forced to sell assets during downturns.
Some treasuries have tried to attract investors by earning yield through staking or by deploying part of their holdings into lending and liquidity protocols. However, Malekan said the biggest damage came from DATs acting as a “mass exit event” for tokens that were supposed to be locked. “I’m still amazed so many investors didn’t cry foul over this,” he said.
He went on to criticize excessive token creation, noting, “Raising too much money and minting too many tokens—even if they’re locked or earmarked for ecosystem growth—is the gangrene of crypto.”
Crypto Treasury Trend Explodes in 2025
The crypto treasury trend has surged this year. An October report from Bitwise found 48 new companies added Bitcoin to their balance sheets in 2025, bringing the total to 207 firms holding over one million BTC—worth more than $101 billion.
Ethereum has also become a key treasury asset. According to Strategic ETH Reserve data, 70 companies now hold a combined 6.14 million Ether, valued at over $20 billion.
Analysts told that the DAT market may soon consolidate under a few larger players as the cycle matures and firms seek stronger investor appeal. Others predict that these companies will expand deeper into the Web3 ecosystem, integrating more blockchain-based financial services over time.
