DATs down 90% as Bitcoin fell 10% – Is the institutional party over?
Once-hyped Digital Asset Treasuries now trade deep in the red, forcing tough choices for fund managers.
Key Takeaways
Why are Digital Asset Treasuries struggling now?
Weekly inflows have dropped 95% since July highs.
How does DAT performance compare to Bitcoin?
BTC is down just 10%, while most DATs have plunged between 40% and 90%.
Institutional interest in Digital Asset Tokens (DATs) seems to be running out of steam.
After months of steady inflows, the tide has turned – with weekly allocations plunging by more than 95% over the past four months. The once poster-boy of investments now looks like it’s in a cooling phase, so is the trend coming to a natural end?
Not the cool kids on the block anymore?
Data from DeFiLlama showed weekly inflows have fallen from a peak of $5.57 billion in July 2025 to just $259 million by November.
This is a staggering 95% drop.
The decline came as broader market sentiment weakened and crypto prices struggled to recover from the recent tariff-driven crash. Confidence among corporate buyers who once viewed crypto as a hedge and growth asset is decreasing.
The once-hyped institutional treasury strategy may be entering a pause or reset phase.
Buying high, losing faster
The performance gap between Bitcoin [BTC] and Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs) has widened sharply over the past three months. While BTC was down just about 10%, most DAT-linked assets have plunged between 40% and 90%.
Several DATs (including those tied to Metaplanet and Naka) are deep in negative territory, even as BTC’s market value holds relatively firm.
As losses mount and premiums vanish, DAT managers are under growing pressure to choose between pausing new purchases or continuing under difficult conditions.
Analyst Adam noted that most major DATs are now trading below their average crypto purchase prices, with their shares falling even further.
Issuing new stock at a discount erodes value, trapping these funds with assets bought near the top. If forced to liquidate, their large BTC, Ethereum [ETH], and Solana [SOL] holdings could intensify selling pressure across the market, testing the resilience of the entire DAT model.
