Digital asset treasury companies explained: Strategy, its imitators and mNAV

What a digital asset treasury company is

A digital asset treasury company holds a cryptocurrency as its primary reserve asset and treats growing that holding, usually measured per share, as its core business goal. Some have an operating business attached (software, mining, media), but the crypto position typically dominates the balance sheet.

The idea started with Strategy in August 2020, when the enterprise software company began converting its cash into bitcoin. It later issued securities specifically to buy more. From 2024 onward, dozens of companies copied the approach, first with bitcoin (Metaplanet in Japan, Twenty One Capital, Strive) and then with ether and solana (BitMine, SharpLink, Forward Industries).

For some investors these stocks offered things a spot fund could not: access through ordinary equity accounts, staking income in the case of ETH and SOL treasuries, and the possibility of growing the amount of crypto behind each share.

How they fund purchases

DATs raise money in the capital markets and convert it into the target asset. The main tools are:

• At-the-market (ATM) equity. The company sells new common shares gradually into the market through a broker. If the stock trades above the value of the crypto per share, each sale lets the company buy more crypto per existing share. Strategy reported raising $20.3 billion through August 23, 2026, mostly via its MSTR ATM (SEC filing, August 2026).
• Convertible notes. Low-coupon bonds that can convert into stock. Investors accept low interest in exchange for the option on the share price. They create a repayment obligation if the stock does not rise enough to convert.
• Perpetual preferred stock. Strategy issued five preferred series (STRK, STRF, STRD, STRC, STRE) with about $15.2 billion of notional outstanding by August 2026, according to AMINA Bank research. These pay fixed or variable dividends with no maturity date. STRC’s rate was 12% from July 1, 2026.
• Private placements and registered directs. Common for smaller DATs, often with warrants attached. Forward Industries completed a $25 million registered direct offering in late September 2026.

mNAV and why the premium compressed

mNAV (multiple of net asset value) compares a company’s market value with the value of the crypto it holds. An mNAV of 1.5x means investors pay $1.50 for each $1 of crypto. Definitions vary: some companies use market capitalization, others use enterprise value (adding debt and preferred stock, subtracting cash), and some use fully diluted share counts.

A premium makes equity issuance accretive: selling stock at 1.5x and buying crypto at 1.0x raises crypto per share. Below 1.0x, the same issuance dilutes holders, and the logical move reverses toward buybacks or asset sales.

Premiums compressed across the sector in 2025 and 2026 for several reasons: a flood of new DATs competing for the same capital, falling crypto prices (The Block reported bitcoin near $59,560 in late June 2026), the rising cost of preferred dividends and interest, and the availability of cheaper spot ETFs. The Block reported on June 26, 2026 that Strategy’s enterprise mNAV briefly dipped below 1, alongside Metaplanet near 0.9.

Strategy responded by adopting a “Digital Credit Capital Framework” on June 29, 2026, redefining its mNAV on July 23, 2026, and selling a total of 6,948 BTC during 2026 to fund dividends, build a USD reserve and repurchase STRC below par, per AMINA Bank. AMINA put Strategy at 1.06x on the company’s new definition versus 0.71x on a simple market-cap-to-bitcoin basis as of August 10, 2026. Strategy has since resumed small purchases, most recently on October 5, 2026. Forward Industries reported a fully diluted mNAV of 0.946x as of September 30, 2026.

The largest holders

BitMine says its position equals about 4.9% of ETH supply and that 5.07 million ETH were staked as of October 4, 2026. Strategy’s holdings represent roughly 4% of all bitcoin, per its own filings.

Accounting and index inclusion

Fair value accounting. Under FASB’s ASU 2023-08, issued in December 2023 and effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024 (early adoption allowed), US companies measure in-scope crypto assets at fair value, with changes flowing through net income. Previously, crypto was treated as an indefinite-lived intangible asset that could only be written down, never up. The change makes reported earnings for DATs swing heavily with crypto prices, which matters for profitability tests used by index committees.

Index questions. MSCI proposed in 2025 to exclude companies with 50% or more of assets in digital assets, then reversed course on January 6, 2026, keeping existing constituents but freezing additions and size changes while it ran a broader review. Its follow-up consultation targets “non-operating companies” using five financial-ratio tests. According to The Block, comments closed September 30, 2026, a decision is due October 16, 2026, and implementation would follow in December 2026. Strategy, Metaplanet and Yellow Cake were flagged in an earlier screening, with SharpLink on a watchlist. Strategy formally objected in a letter dated August 31, 2026. Separately, Strategy was not among the S&P 500 additions announced on September 4, 2026.

Risks to understand

• Reflexivity. Rising prices lift the premium, which funds more buying. The loop runs in reverse when prices fall.
• Fixed obligations. Preferred dividends and interest are paid in dollars. AMINA estimated Strategy’s annual interest and preferred dividends at about $1.76 billion as of August 2026, against a USD reserve that Strategy said had grown to $5.10 billion.
• Forced or discretionary selling. Strategy’s 2026 sales showed that a treasury company can become a seller, not only a buyer.
• Dilution and governance. Large ATM programs, warrants and related-party structures can shift value away from existing shareholders.
• Index and passive flows. Exclusion from major benchmarks could trigger mechanical selling by index funds.
• Asset-specific risk. ETH and SOL treasuries add staking, liquid staking token and smart contract exposure on top of price risk.

Items to watch: MSCI’s October 16 decision, whether premiums recover above 1.0x across the sector, and how preferred markets price Strategy’s credit. This guide is educational and not investment advice.

Sources and further reading

• Strategy bitcoin purchase history (holdings as of October 5, 2026)
• Strategy free writing prospectus filed with the SEC (August 2026)
• AMINA Bank: why Strategy is selling bitcoin and the mNAV redefinition
• BitMine ETH holdings release (as of October 4, 2026)
• Forward Industries fiscal Q4 SOL holdings release (as of September 30, 2026)
• The Block: Strategy responds to MSCI’s non-operating company proposal