Written by: Charlie Little Sun
Written in advance
Recently, I wrote some articles and met some new friends. Whenever we chat, I always mention my former boss Jack Mallers leading the Tether + SoftBank + Cantor team, which is called Twenty One.
Unlike other DATs (at least in terms of narrative), his “native” concept actually inspired my thinking about the business models of every company in the future.
In the past, we thought of the web3 and web2 worlds as separate, but in the future, more and more web3 native products and businesses will reshape the entire global economic landscape.
Just like the last cycle, every company will become a fintech company.
The next cycle should be Every company will become a DAT company.
Corporate finance is undergoing a quiet revolution.
In the past, top operators focused their efforts on pricing power, working capital, and tax structure.
Now, the most astute CFO has gained an adjustable throttle - Digital Asset Treasury (DAT).
The focus is not on turning ourselves into a cryptocurrency company, but on operating the company better.
Core business continues as usual, but the financial treasury is to be built into a second engine—assets become more diversified, more liquid, and more globalized, all natively operating on the internet.
DAT is no longer a niche strategy.
I remember that in the policy memo written to the President of El Salvador in 2021, only MicroStrategy and Tesla had incorporated Bitcoin into their balance sheets.
As of now, 172 listed companies hold BTC, and the corporate treasury at the public offering level manages over 6% of the total Bitcoin supply on the network.
Ethereum has also progressed from a testing ground to the second reserve option, with dozens of institutions collectively holding over 4 million ETH, and even Solana has begun to make its presence felt on the enterprise side.
A common configuration method is to hold for the long term and participate in staking to earn protocol rewards.
This is not a show, but a structural shift in financial thinking from “defense - preservation of value - liquidity” to “resilience - return - liquidity.”
BTC camp
Bitcoin remains the ballast.
Strategy Inc. (formerly MicroStrategy) has paved the way as a pioneer: financing BTC through a combination of cash, convertible bonds, and equity, holding on across cycles, allowing fair value accounting to honestly present both sides of the fluctuations.
Mining companies like Marathon offer a second paradigm: HODL output, prudently lending for profits, financing during bull market windows, and sustaining operations during bear markets.
The core lesson is very simple: treat Bitcoin as a “strategic reserve,” not as a “trading position.”
The companies that survived the last bear market all made sure to extend their debt structure and resolutely avoided being forced to sell at the bottom.
The new changes in 2025 are designed from the beginning as a “Bitcoin native” listing vehicle.
Former boss Jack Mallers' Twenty One—backed by Tether and SoftBank, in collaboration with Cantor—is set to start with over 42,000 BTC at launch, with a clear KPI of “maximizing Bitcoin holdings per share” (Bitcoin-per-share, BPS).
This is not a passive business: it accumulates BTC for the long term and also focuses on education, advocacy, content, and Bitcoin native products.
The company is therefore not just a form, but also a distribution ecological niche that continuously sends out the concept based on Bitcoin.
In a more favorable policy climate, the strategic value of this alliance is self-evident: Tether's stablecoin dominance + SoftBank's multinational tech industry dominance + Cantor's influence on U.S. policy.
Of course, we also have to add Jack Mallers' top-notch evangelism brainwashing ability.
ETH camp
Ethereum also has its own DAT prototype, and three highly recognizable cases are enough to illustrate the issue.
Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin has transformed SharpLink into a native ETH treasury vehicle, incorporating hundreds of thousands of ETH into its balance sheet and clearly embracing staking and DeFi integration – more like “ETH version of Saylor+Staking,” rather than passive investment.
Recent reports indicate that SharpLink's holdings are approaching 800,000 ETH after additional purchases, along with capital actions exceeding $400 million, completely restructuring the company from a “gaming business” to an “Ethereum operating platform.”
Tom Lee, the former Chief Equity Strategist at JPMorgan who best understands Wall Street thinking, has been appointed as the Chairman of BitMine Immersion, as the company shifts from pure mining to actively accumulating and staking ETH.
The disclosure shows that it holds over $3 billion worth of ETH on its balance sheet, and Lee has publicly expressed the ambition to “aim to acquire and stake up to 5% of the total supply”—this is a blatant “DAT rather than ETF” blueprint, matching the scale of the balance sheet with the depth of on-chain operations.
ETHZilla is a combination of “ETH accumulation + DeFi native yield + builders network.” The platform of Electric Capital is significant: this is not an index fund disguised as a company, but an operational platform that can co-build with protocol teams, channel treasury into high-quality on-chain scenarios, and continuously compound ETH exposure.
If the BTC type DAT corresponds to “perfect collateral + long-term scarcity”, then the ETH type DAT leans more towards “programmable cash flow + ecological reach.”
The Banner of the SOL Camp
Solana's exposure on the enterprise side has just begun, but the signals are significant.
Upexi announced a shift to Solana-based DAT, planning to raise $100 million to create a SOL treasury with the support of GSR, and the Solana Foundation has also publicly endorsed it.
DeFi Development Corp has disclosed that it holds over one million SOL, claiming to hold and stake it long-term, positioning itself as a native treasury vehicle for SOL rather than a passive holder.
At the same time, Galaxy, Jump, Multicoin, and others are brewing a plan to establish a $1 billion Solana fund through the shell of a publicly traded company, and they have also received support from Cantor.
Why do DAT?
The modern treasury of the CFO has three core responsibilities: preserving purchasing power, ensuring liquidity anytime and anywhere, and continually creating strategic options.
Bitcoin can outperform fiat currency depreciation and hedge against inflation, and it has a strong non-correlation with stocks and bonds in the long term.
Ethereum, and even more aggressive Solana, generate returns through staking.
Stablecoins are global operating funds - real-time settlement, transparent rates, and programmable, suitable for cross-border business.
By adding these together, the corporate treasury shifts from a “static burden” to a “dynamic system.”
Stablecoins are actually an undervalued main line here.
In 2024-2025, the product-market fit (PMF) for stablecoin is indisputable, and payment giants are fully integrating.
The signal conveyed by Stripe's acquisition of Bridge is clear: settlements should be completed at internet speed, and merchants need to have more predictable control over rates and foreign exchange costs.
As the regulatory framework in the United States becomes clearer, US dollar stablecoins will move towards “ordinary corporate cash equivalents” - the only difference being minute-level settlement, 24/7 operation, and the ability to be integrated into workflows.
This is also why DAT does not just put crypto on the balance sheet.
It is more like a global cash operating system, better suited for the future global cross-border 7 x 24 non-stop business model.
What to do about market volatility?
Skeptics might ask, “What if cryptocurrency assets drop by 80% again?”
The answer lies in “design”.
DAT that can traverse cycles will leave enough fiat/stablecoin buffer to cover years of daily expenses and debt servicing, using a low-interest, long-duration debt structure, and choose to enter the capital market during strong windows.
At the same time, accounting standards transitioned from “historical cost” to “fair value”, reducing information asymmetry and allowing CFOs to manage BTC and ETH like other market-cap assets.
Why is DAT better than ETF?
There is another question: Since there is a spot ETF, why hold DAT?
Because DAT can do things that ETFs cannot.
It can actively optimize entry points, choose the right timing for leverage or financing, stake ETH and SOL to earn yields, prudently lend BTC, and even create products and content, expanding the “native products” that meet the real demand of the underlying network.
What investors are buying is the equity of a company that “has its own financial reserves,” not a share that charges management fees but lacks strategic upside.
In short, an ETF just gives you exposure, while a DAT can provide you with alpha and influence.
The complete puzzle of stablecoins and RWA
A fully on-chain treasury that can use stablecoins as cash, deploy RWA for low-risk returns, and allocate BTC/ETH for long-term upward assets—all in the same wallet, easily transferable between subsidiaries and upstream/downstream partners without being restricted by bank operating hours.
Taking OKX, which balances well between the U.S. and offshore, as an example, in terms of stablecoins, OKX collaborates with USDG to build a global dollar network. USDG can enable automatic interest accrual within its exchange accounts, enhancing the efficiency of idle funds without sacrificing liquidity.
When U.S. policy opens the door for tokenized assets for long-term accounts like 401(k), while establishing a federal-level stablecoin framework, corporate finance and crypto infrastructure will truly converge.
In this puzzle, the integration of “Payment - Transaction - On-chain Settlement” is becoming the industry consensus.
Whoever embraces first sets the standard; the earlier a company implements, the more it can compound.
DAT is the future of every company.
Returning to the previous statement: Every company should become a DAT company.
Because the future business world is a global, multinational, 24 x 7, year-round world, whether between employees or between upstream and downstream customers and partners.
First, the company's “first principles” should also be its core business - continuously producing good products, serving customers well, caring for employees, and maintaining cash flow.
But on top of this, a layer of DAT strategy can be added, which is more in line with the future global cross-border 7 x 24 uninterrupted business model.
You can keep a prudent proportion of BTC for long-term protection and alpha, or gradually accumulate ETH/SOL according to the business roadmap and revenue needs; use stablecoins as the lifeblood of global operating funds; treat RWA as a highly liquid asset equivalent to cash.
First protect the runway, then control leverage, and finally focus on the narrative—you're not just safeguarding the balance sheet, but transforming it into a “competitive weapon” for the business.
