Experts Predict Collapse of Companies Holding Bitcoin and Ethereum on Their Balance Sheets

By 2026, the public sector with cryptocurrency reserves (DAT) risks facing a major crisis. Shares of many major players have already fallen, and industry representatives forecast further deterioration, reports Cointelegraph.

In 2025, many firms offering investors access to cryptocurrencies through shares entered the market. During the October Bitcoin rally, the sector attracted billions of dollars, but the subsequent correction seriously impacted the capitalization of these enterprises.

Gloomy Forecast
Co-founder of MoreMarkets, Altan Tutar, described the sector's prospects as "gloomy." In his opinion, market saturation will lead to the closure of most such structures.

The first to go will be companies focused on altcoins: they will not be able to maintain a market valuation above the value of assets on their balance sheets. Tutar believes that, following them, holders of large coins like Ethereum, Solana, and XRP will also be affected.

Only those who offer investors additional value will survive. This refers to products that generate stable income from assets, which can be distributed among shareholders.

Business Model Shift
Co-founder of Solv Protocol, Ryan Chow, noted that the number of companies holding the first cryptocurrency increased from 70 to 130 in just six months. However, a strategy of simple accumulation no longer guarantees success.

According to Chow, many market participants used buying digital gold merely as a marketing move without a real financial structure. Now, they are forced to sell assets to cover operational expenses.

The expert is confident that the approach must change: from speculation to structured capital management. Bitcoin should be used in transparent income-generating instruments, not left on the balance sheet as "dead weight."

Threat from ETFs
CEO of First Digital, Vincent Chok, sees the main threat to DAT companies in competition with spot ETFs. Investors are increasingly choosing exchange-traded funds as a simpler and more regulated instrument. The situation was worsened by the easing of rules in the US, allowing ETFs to include staking income.

To stay afloat, crypto companies will need to meet the standards of traditional finance. This requires full transparency, auditability, and compliance procedures at the level of institutional players.

Recall that CoinShares researcher James Butterfill stated that the "treasury" company bubble has effectively burst.