Record high crypto prices in 2025 fueled a wave of digital asset treasury (“DAT”) companies announcing SPAC mergers, but a major crypto sell-off has turned that enthusiasm into a rout, and DATs that once traded at a premium to NAV now trade at a discount.
Last year, the SPAC market sought to capitalize on the fact that holding $1 of Bitcoin could translate to roughly $2 of market value, a trade pioneered by Michael Saylor’s Strategy Inc. (MSTR). As a result, 10 SPACs announced plans to list newly formed DATs. In a move reminiscent of the 2021 bull market, stocks spiked when deals were merely announced, despite a history of underperformance from crypto de-SPACs. Two of the ten have already listed via SPAC merger – Twenty One Capital (XXI) and ProCap Financial (BRR) – and another eight mergers remain pending. In addition, several already-public companies pivoted to form DATs, including Empery Digital (EMPD). These vehicles were designed to hold and grow digital assets, primarily as a bet on crypto appreciation and a continued premium to NAV, but also through certain income opportunities (e.g. lending, liquidity provisioning).
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