Treasury firms lose ground as Bitcoin holdings shrink 76%

Once hailed as the institutional bridge that would secure cryptocurrency’s role in corporate finance, Bitcoin treasuries are now in sharp decline, plunging 76% as Wall Street pulls back.

Rather than serving as a solid base for demand – companies, pensions, and institutions holding Bitcoin on their balance sheets – this previously steady support reveals its fragility. Corporate support that has initially helped prop up prices is turning into the opposite.

Wall Street steps back from Bitcoin treasuries

Digital-asset treasuries’ buying of Bitcoin is down from 64,000 BTC in July to 12,600 in August, according to data from CryptoQuant. So far in September, the number sits at a paltry 15,500 BTC. That’s down 76% from the early-summer frenzy.

Bitcoin was down nearly 6% for the week, with other major tokens like Ether also falling. Sudden liquidations and tepid derivatives activity have accelerated the selloff.

Meanwhile, several treasury companies’ stocks have fallen. Some that were bubbly on private investment in public equity deals are now priced at as much as 97% below their issue price. The firms could lose another 50% of their value if pressure remains, according to analysts at CryptoQuant.

The Wall Street Journal reported that US regulators are now investigating unusual trading around treasury-related announcements. Market observers also note that there is limited visibility on how much crypto these companies own and at what price they obtain it. Complicated private investment in public equity with warrants has made monitoring the true share count and dilution risks more difficult.

What was once advertised as a safe institutional on-ramp to crypto now seems tenuous. Shares of many of the listed treasury companies now trade at or even below the value of the Bitcoin on their books, wiping out the rich premiums investors once paid.

Institutional sellers clear the demand ledger

For most of 2025, digital-asset treasuries were considered a countercyclical buyer, injecting billions into Bitcoin and absorbing selloffs. That emboldened a conviction that Wall Street could act as a stabilizing force in the market.

That confidence has been shaken. Without capital, they are unable to exercise purchasing power any longer. It creates a cycle in reverse: falling institutional demand drives down prices, causing new inflows to flee.

The pressure is most visible in derivatives markets. Interest in longer-dated futures has dried up, and more than $275 million in Bitcoin longs were liquidated on a single day this week alone. The reversal reflects traders’ increasing reluctance to take on risk.

Retail, however, is hanging tough as ETFs are still a point of lightness, and the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF took in $2.5 billion last month, up sharply from $707 million in August. Smaller investors are still chasing exposure, as corporate buyers withdraw.

According to  Jeff Dorman, chief investment officer at Arca, the rotation was straightforward. Crypto appeared weak as digital-asset treasuries tumbled. While this didn’t trigger direct selling pressure, it effectively sidelined a deep-pocketed buyer from the market.

Even the old traders are getting wary of what’s happening. Morten Christensen, who runs AirdropAlert.com, said he saw warning signs when Bitcoin passed the $123,000 mark in August.

He said the spread of treasury companies was, in his view, a sign that the top of the market had been reached and likened it to earlier cycles characterized by overconfidence followed by steep drops.

And the sharp pullback points to a new reality. Rather than integrating Bitcoin into corporate finance, digital-asset treasuries have added another layer of volatility to the market.

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