Institutional Money Pouring Into Digital Asset Treasuries: $2.6B Drawing Market Attention

Over the past two weeks, digital asset treasuries have attracted more than $2.6 billion in institutional capital—the strongest showing in seven weeks. This capital market drawing reveals shifting institutional sentiment and suggests a fundamental recalibration in how large players view crypto holdings.

What’s Actually Driving the Inflows?

The surge stems from two major catalysts. First, the Federal Reserve’s December 10 rate cut released fresh liquidity into markets and reduced leverage costs for institutional arbitrageurs. Second—and perhaps more structurally significant—the new FASB accounting standard (ASU 2023-08) that went into effect this year now permits companies to report cryptocurrency appreciation directly as net income for the first time. This creates a powerful year-end incentive for treasuries to lock in gains before FY2025 closes.

As Jimmy Xue, Co-Founder & COO of quantitative yield protocol Axis, explained to Decrypt: “This macro shift coincides with the first mandatory year allowing companies to report crypto price appreciation as net income. While the timing is tactical—a year-end move to optimize balance sheets—it signals a structural reversal toward treating digital assets as a permanent category of marketable securities.”

The Money Flow Data Tells a Story

Between December 8-14, treasuries recorded $1.36 billion in net inflows:

• Bitcoin trusts: $940 million
• Ethereum: $423 million
• Bittensor: $724,000
• Solana: $2.55 million outflow

The following week (December 15-21) accelerated momentum, with an additional $980 million flowing to Bitcoin and $313 million into Ethereum.

Strategy, the leading Bitcoin treasury company, exemplified this trend by executing two massive acquisitions. On December 7, it purchased 10,624 BTC valued at $962.69 million. One week later, on December 15, it secured another 10,645 BTC worth $980.28 million—totaling nearly $2 billion in Bitcoin purchases in a single week.

With current Bitcoin trading around $90.64K and Ethereum at $3.11K, Strategy’s holdings of 671,270 BTC are worth approximately $60.8 billion at today’s prices. Yet the company faces a paradox: despite massive accumulation, its market net asset value (mNAV) remains below 1.0, hovering around 0.91. An mNAV below one complicates future fundraising for additional acquisitions, as it indicates the treasury trades at a discount to its underlying asset value.

The “Flight to Quality” Pattern

What’s revealing isn’t just the volume—it’s the composition of these inflows. Bitcoin and Ethereum dominate because they offer the deep liquidity institutional treasuries require for moving billions without moving markets. This represents a deliberate “flight to quality,” where smart money concentrates on established, liquid assets rather than chasing niche opportunities.

The exception proves the rule: Bittensor received $724,000 in inflows, but this wasn’t driven by broad institutional appetite. Instead, it was a specific event play—Bittensor’s December 12 halving combined with Grayscale’s launch of a Bittensor Trust created a narrative moment. This suggests institutional treasuries remain focused on core holdings and high-conviction thematic bets, not diversification into smaller assets.

What This Means for DAT Valuations

These substantial inflows are mechanically tightening the discount at which digital asset treasuries trade. “Cheaper capital allows investors to use DATs as leveraged proxies to acquire Bitcoin and Ethereum at an effective discount,” Xue noted. “These inflows indicate the narrowing of the 10–15% discount that has historically characterized these vehicles.”

Looking forward, DATs maintain structural advantages over spot ETFs. They can capture native staking yield—something most US spot ETFs cannot legally offer—and utilize treasured assets for strategic M&A opportunities. This positions them as “active yield” vehicles, providing capital efficiency that passive ETF structures simply cannot replicate.

For 2026, expect digital asset treasuries to remain attractive for institutional allocators seeking yield generation and strategic flexibility alongside core Bitcoin and Ethereum exposure.