These 3 Public Companies Now Own Nearly 4% of All Bitcoin and Why That’s Risky

DATCOs, a.k.a Digital Asset Treasury Companies, now collectively hold over $100 billion in digital assets. The bulk of these holdings is dominated by publicly listed firms, with Michael Saylor-led Strategy leading the pack, followed by Japan’s Metaplanet and US-based SharpLink Gaming.

Together, treasury companies have amassed 791,662 BTC and 1,313,318 ETH, representing roughly 3.98% of Bitcoin’s and 1.09% of Ethereum’s circulating supply.

DATCO Holdings Top $100B

According to the latest report published by Galaxy Digital, Strategy alone holds BTC currently valued at $71.8 billion, with more than $28 billion in unrealized profits. It appears that early entry and aggressive accumulation strategies have paid off. Other DATCOs, while smaller in size, also benefit from low cost bases and significant upside potential.

A growing number of entrants are diversifying beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum. These entities are expanding their holdings to include at least ten other digital assets, such as Solana (SOL), Ripple (XRP), Binance Coin (BNB), and Hyperliquid (HYPE).

Ethereum-focused treasury companies are going further by leveraging staking and DeFi strategies to generate non-dilutive returns, a feature not available to BTC-only firms.

While the US remains the dominant hub for these companies, international players are increasingly entering the market, owing to “regional capital market dynamics.” Unlike ETFs, DATCOs have the ability to raise and deploy capital more flexibly, which may attract narrative-driven inflows from investors.

In the future, DATCOs are expected to play an even bigger role in the crypto industry. But this growth isn’t without risks.

Stimulant or Depressant?

One major issue is the “reflexive” relationship developing between the stock prices of DATCOs and the price of Bitcoin. When investors put money into DATCOs, these companies can raise capital more easily and use it to buy more BTC, thereby creating a feedback loop.

This loop acts like a stimulant during bull markets, which pushes prices higher. But if the broader macro environment shifts to a risk-off setting, that stimulant could become a “depressant,” dragging prices down. A growing concern is that Bitcoin’s price is starting to follow risk-on behavior in the stock market more closely.

Galaxy believes that “perhaps this was inevitable.” DATCOs have helped make Bitcoin more accessible to institutional investors, but in doing so, they may be creating a system where Bitcoin depends too much on equity markets – something that goes against the very ethos of being a non-correlated asset.