The DAT bubble has burst: Those companies that hoarded tokens and told stories have taken a hit this time.

[Chain Note] Those companies that relied on hoarding tokens and telling stories have taken a hit this time.

The head of research at CoinShares recently released a report, pointing out that the bubble of Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) companies has basically burst. Back in the summer, some companies’ market caps were hyped up to three to ten times their net assets—in other words, they were treating their token vaults like money printers. What about now? Valuations have plummeted back to reality, with mNAV multiples dropping to 1 or even lower.

What comes next? There are two paths: either panic selling drives prices down further, or these companies grit their teeth and hold out for a market rebound. The research chief favors the latter, for a simple reason—the macro environment is improving, and a rate cut may come in December, which would be a positive signal for the crypto market.

But the real issue isn’t short-term volatility. The core problem is that a bunch of companies have been frantically hoarding tokens in public markets, but aside from making their balance sheets look good, they’ve accomplished nothing in terms of actual business. Investors aren’t naive anymore; simply diluting equity and going all in on a single asset is becoming less and less attractive. Reputation is hard to regain once lost.

The good news is that some leading companies have started to integrate Bitcoin into legitimate treasury management systems—not just as a buzzword, but as a real strategic tool. The path of digital asset treasuries isn’t dead, it’s just going through a shakeout. New entrants need to understand: you need solid fundamentals, a reliable business model, decent governance, and managed expectations. The era of betting everything on digital assets is over.