DAT funds raised over 20 billion USD, a new turning point for the market.

Digital Asset Treasury companies (DAT) have raised over 20 billion USD in venture capital just in 2025, reshaping the startup landscape in the crypto sector. While overall fundraising for crypto remains rather subdued, DAT has become the focal point of the market. The question arises: will this wave continue to lead through the end of 2025 and into early 2026, and what will come next for the DAT sector?

Has the DAT wave peaked?

According to many investors, the peak of the DAT fundraising rounds has passed, as valuations are gradually narrowing and top tokens have all been covered. New fundraising rounds are still expected by the beginning of 2026, but on a smaller scale, and only a few projects may break through.

Cosmo Jiang, a partner at Pantera Capital – a fund that has established two specialized DAT funds and invested over 300 million USD in DAT companies – stated:

"The market is about to move out of the initial formation phase of DAT to enter a new phase, focusing on execution, expansion, and it is highly likely to consolidate."

For mega-rounds of 500 million to 1 billion USD or more, only a few companies with large market capitalization and sufficient volatility can issue new convertible securities. Michael Anderson, co-founder of Framework Ventures, believes that except for a few names like Bitmine – the DAT company focused on Ethereum, most projects find it difficult to sustain this pace. Instead, he expects the emergence of many smaller-scale DATs, linked to each ecosystem, while large companies rely on debt and capital structure to keep the mNAV ratio above 1.0.

DAT has raised over 20 billion USD this year | Source: The Block## Valuation pressure and consolidation risk

A major challenge is the narrowing of NAV. Data from The Block shows that many DATs are currently trading at or below their net asset value. Ray Hindi, co-founder of L1D AG, believes that these discount levels are "inevitable" and forecasts a trend of consolidation before 2026. Richard Galvin, Chairman of Digital Asset Capital Management, agrees that efficiently operating but undervalued DATs could become M&A targets.

Michael Bucella, co-founder of Neoclassic Capital, emphasized: "If released at 1.25x mNAV and repurchased at 0.7x mNAV, the deal will immediately create value." However, this is only feasible when the underlying token has good liquidity. Otherwise, efforts to narrow the discount could lead to a "death spiral."

Brian Rudick, CSO of Solana DAT Upexi, added that the project surplus has pulled mNAV down. However, a strong bull market or clearer US legislation could help top DATs regain their premium.

Liquidity – the critical bottleneck

Low liquidity is also a significant pressure. With limited trading volume, DAT finds it difficult to issue shares via the ATM (at-the-market) method or through equity credit lines, prolonging the discount situation and making weak companies more vulnerable to takeover.

Rudick stated that a DAT can only "pump" a maximum of 1-3% of the daily trading volume into the market without causing a drop in stock prices. To compensate, many DATs leverage staking or purchase locked tokens at a discount. Upexi, for example, has bought a majority of the locked Solana at a discount of about 15%, benefiting from staking ~8% per year, while also having it gradually unlocked until 2028.

According to Samantha Bohbot of RockawayX, developing the options market for underlying assets will be key to improving DAT liquidity, creating a "positive feedback loop" between options and spot trading. However, Galvin (DACM) notes that the long-term success of DAT is still more dependent on the price trend of the underlying tokens than on secondary liquidity.

The picture after DAT: DeFi, stablecoin and RWA

While DAT is stagnating, venture capitalists are beginning to seek new opportunities. Many opinions suggest that DeFi will regain momentum, especially as expected interest rate cuts make DeFi yields more attractive. RWA (Real World Asset) products are also expected to develop strongly.

Stablecoins are another prominent topic. Additionally, investors are interested in consumer applications across ecosystems, the final funding round for mature crypto businesses, and tokens with solid fundamentals.

Overall, the VC market is entering a more disciplined phase, focusing on projects with a clear product-market fit and significant market potential.

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