* Crypto initial public offerings, exchange-traded funds, and digital asset treasuries have proliferated on major exchanges, giving investors more options than ever before to buy into digital assets.
* One of the themes of the moment is so-called DATCOs, which let investors buy stocks of companies that acquire coins — of which there are now hundreds.
If you’re a crypto investor, you have more options than ever before. That doesn’t mean your choices are any simpler.
Crypto is a fast-expanding market at a time when digital asset prices are under renewed pressure. Digital assets, from bitcoin (BTCUSD) to altcoins and big-name crypto stocks, sputtered to end the third quarter as negative market vibes descended on an industry fired up by regulatory reforms, product rollouts, and deals.
Crypto exchange Gemini (GEMI), platform Bullish (BLSH) and lending firm Figure Technologies (FIGR) saw their stocks pop on their debuts, inspiring other crypto companies to move closer to IPOs. New crypto ETFs are on the way following the approval of generic listing standards. A few are already on the market.
But the concept that best represents the current moment might be digital asset treasury companies, or DATCOs. There are now hundreds of public companies that seek to emulate the bitcoin-buying habits of Michael Saylor’s Strategy (MSTR). Some have helped lifted coin prices, though a quarter-end crypto selloff has raised questions about their effectiveness.
Here’s what to know about DATCOs as 2025 starts its home stretch.
Why This Matters to Crypto Investors
There are hundreds of crypto plays on the market after a spate of IPOs, new ETFs and DATCO launches. The DATCOs, which acquire a range of coins, offer investors what could be a more convenient and familiar means to trade them than buying the coins themselves. Some observers, however, aren’t fans.
DATCOs trade in coins ranging from ether (ETHUSD) and solana (SOLUSD) to more obscure offerings like worldcoin (WLDUSD) and avalanche (AVAXUSD). Some, like Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), which buys ether, and Eightco Holdings (ORBS), the native token of Sam Altman’s World Project, have substantial market caps.
Shares of DATCOs can move dramatically, and see jumps in trading volume, akin to meme stocks. Bitmine, Eightco, and Forward Industries (FORD) are up at least 400% year-to-date, though their reference coins haven’t seen gains of that magnitude. That kind of price action has lately attracted regulatory scrutiny.
They “have brought in tens of billions of dollars of fresh capital from non-crypto buyers,” said Cosmo Jiang, a partner at crypto VC firm-turned asset manager Pantera Capital, said. “It’s about meeting people where they are. Everyone has a brokerage account. Everyone has access to equities.”
