The third quarter is turning out to be a tough period for companies that followed in the footsteps of Michael Saylor’s Strategy (previously known as MicroStrategy).
The stock prices of these companies are slipping as their total share value dip below the worth of their crypto holdings.
Several digital asset treasuries, or DATs, began buying back their own stocks. FT reporter Nikou Asgari says this may be a sign of imminent collapse.
Summary
- The stock prices of several Strategy copycats peaked shortly after the announcement of the cryptocurrency pivot.
- Now they have to borrow up to $250 million to repurchase their shares as they hope the move will push the price up.
- The trend aligns with the overall digital asset treasury sector turbulence. Many of them have lower value than the bitcoins they hold.
Buybacks
An FT report focuses on seven relatively small companies whose corporate Bitcoin journey has turned out to be rough. The article names Semler Scientific, ETHZilla, Empery Digital, CEA Industries, Metaplanet, SharpLink Gaming, and Ton Strategy. Five of them now have market capitalization below their Bitcoin holdings.
Most of them made a crypto pivot only a few months ago. The pivot announcement was typically followed by a powerful short-term surge in stock prices and a subsequent decline. In recent weeks, all of these companies have resorted to buying back their shares, hoping it will boost their stock prices.
These companies need to trade stocks above their underlying crypto assets. Otherwise, they won’t be able to follow Saylor’s strategy and keep purchasing crypto. These DATs raised dozens and hundreds of millions of dollars in debt to buy back their shares.
According to Asgari, these examples signify the soon-fading out of what he called “Bitcoin Treasury craze.” The article provides a comment from Morgan McCarthy, an analyst from a crypto analytics company Kaiko: “It’s probably the death rattle for a few [of these companies].”
McCarthy suggests these companies are trying to buy time in the hope that they will capitalize on the next crypto rally.
At the same time, Asgari notes that share buybacks are not specific to the corporate crypto treasuries. It is a common strategy of companies looking to increase the price of their shares.
Semler Scientific and Strive Asset Management merger
While the FT article raises a question whether digital asset accumulation is a profitable strategy, it suggests that the collapse is not the only possible scenario. Asgari shows that struggling Bitcoin treasury companies may become targets for acquisitions. One such example is Semler Scientific, which was bought by Vivek Ramaswamy’s Strive Asset Management on September 22. The merger created the third-largest Bitcoin treasury (at 10,900 BTC) and a 210% premium for Semler shareholders.
The Wolf of All Streets podcast host Scott Melker suggested that this deal may mark the beginning of corporate Bitcoin space consolidation. He added that the Semler Scientific acquisition isn’t the last such merger and “almost certainly not the largest.”
You might also like: Strive-Semler merger creates $1.2b Bitcoin treasury powerhouse
Was ‘Paper Bitcoin summer’ hot?
In the first half of 2025, Bitcoin treasury companies were a really hyped topic. However, by July, there were several companies trying to repeat Saylor’s success through betting on other cryptocurrencies, including Ether, Dogecoin, Official Trump, and various other crypto assets.
Around the same time, it became clear that many BTC treasuries perform poorly. One of the most notorious examples is David Bailey’s Nakamoto stock that plunged over 50% in a single day.
DL News cites a former Goldman Sachs analyst, Dom Kwok, saying that the stock prices diverge from the underlying crypto prices, turning investors away.
One of the notable signs that digital asset treasury companies are facing troubles is that Metaplanet is eyeing a possible share buyback, too. Japanese company Metaplanet is the biggest corporate BTC holder in the region and the fifth-largest corporate Bitcoin treasury in the world.
The company CEO Simon Gerovich said that the company will possibly perform buybacks and release preferred shares. It may happen if the company’s market cap slides below the value of its BTC balance sheet.
Metaplanet just refinanced its “3rd bonds” series which had cash interest, personal guaranty, and collateral liens—much like MicroStrategy’s onerous $500 million 6.125% notes
Does anyone remember what happened to $MSTR mNAV after retiring their legacy debt on 9/24/24?
TLDR:🚀 pic.twitter.com/tBm7AjobFP
— Jeff Park (@dgt10011) June 30, 2025
More than that, the originator of the BTC treasury business playbook, Strategy itself, is facing some turbulence as well. At the end of August, Strategy lost around 15% of its value, effectively losing premium over its Bitcoin holdings.
In 2025, Strategy released a series of preferred stocks, raising criticism over asset dilution or even “Ponzi vibes.” As Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies started to steal the show in July, Bitcoin’s treasuries somewhat lost their spotlight, losing much-needed investor money. As the company continues to buy Bitcoin (currently holding over 630,000 BTC), the MSTR stock continues to decline.
Read more: Michael Saylor’s Strategy buys 850 BTC as MSTR stock dips
In 2024, MSTR’s total value was 2.5 to 3 times larger than Strategy’s Bitcoin holdings’ value. However, in August 2025, these figures came remarkably close. It undermined investors’ interest and limited the company’s opportunities for continuation of its strategy. In September, Strategy rejected by the S&P 500 committee, although many believed the company fits the index perfectly.
Anyone who has traded crypto knows that beating bitcoin over time is nearly impossible.
You need impeccable timing and selection, even in alt season – because you always have to rotate back.
The treasury company situation is no different.
They are all trying to beat Bitcoin.
— The Wolf Of All Streets (@scottmelker) September 16, 2025
While the trend doesn’t necessarily mean that digital asset treasuries will disappear anytime soon, some ambitious projects backed by top-tier investors are continuing to emerge. However, they appear in the same reality where treasury companies are losing popularity and enjoy smaller returns.
One notable example is Bullish, a highly hyped company backed by Peter Thiel. It was launched in August. Bullish is facing similar problems. Its current value is nearly identical to the value of its Bitcoin holdings. Time will tell if consolidation, in the form of mergers or otherwise, will save Bitcoin treasuries.
Read more: Bullish shares climb nearly 6% after securing New York BitLicense
