Shares of companies like ALT5 Sigma, Kindly MD, Strategy, Metaplanet, and DDC Enterprise are taking a beating

Crypto-holding stocks are falling, including ALT5 Sigma, Kindly MD, Strategy, Metaplanet, and DDC Enterprise, putting the “digital-asset treasury” model under strain.

While other risk assets, from equities to corporate debt, have risen ahead of a widely expected Federal Reserve rate cut, DAT shares keep sliding, and many linked tokens are falling too.

The list of declines is growing. ALT5 Sigma Corp., which owns the WLFI token connected to Trump-linked World Liberty Financial Inc., has fallen about 50% in just over a week.

“There are way too many of them and very little differentiation” in the US, said Ed Chin, co-founder of Parataxis Capital, which recently backed a South Korean Bitcoin treasury firm.

This year has seen the launch of well over 100 coin-buying treasuries, many of them small businesses that rebranded almost overnight, from a Japanese nail salon to a cannabis seller to a marketing agency.

Speculation hasn’t vanished, though. Shares of Eightco Holdings Inc. leapt more than 3,000% on Monday after it laid out a plan to acquire Worldcoin and added Wall Street analyst Dan Ives to its board.

The draw is straightforward. A public stock can offer crypto exposure with potential upside leverage inside a familiar equity format. Sometimes, that still leads to big markups. But the space is crowded. Many firms offer little beyond the coins they hold, and as prices slip, the confidence that supported those premiums is thinning.

Bloomberg reported new data show the slowdown isn’t just in mood but in actual buying. CryptoQuant estimates that DATs purchased only 14,800 Bitcoin in August, down from 66,000 in June. Average tickets fell to 343 Bitcoin last month, an 86% drop from the 2025 peak. The accumulation rate also cooled sharply, from 163% growth in March to 8% in August.

Many firms are turning to more complex funding

Lenders, brokers and derivatives desks have built a niche toolkit for them with Bitcoin-backed loans, token-linked convertibles and structured payouts. These options can be faster and more flexible than bank credit, but they can also stack risk on volatile assets or swap upside for short-term yield, tightening the margin for error.

One example is Smarter Web Co., a London web-design firm that holds Bitcoin. It issued a bond indexed to the coin rather than pounds, so a rising Bitcoin price increases what the firm owes.

CEO Andrew Webley said only 5% of the treasury is tied to the bond and argued it is safer than fiat debt. “If Bitcoin goes up in value, as long as our shares go up by more than Bitcoin, then that will convert into equity,” he said. “If it goes down, we are not exposing ourselves, the worst that can happen is we pay the debt back. Our debt in Bitcoin.”

DDC Enterprise Ltd., once a struggling meal company, has access to more than $1 billion, most of it untapped, through a mix of debt, equity lines, and shelf offerings. Its shares have rolled over after soaring just weeks ago.

Nasdaq has reportedly begun asking some token-holding issuers to secure shareholder approval before selling new shares to buy more tokens. Issuing stock has been a key way for DATs to raise money without taking on debt.

Market leaders aren’t immune

Strategy and Japan’s Metaplanet Inc., two of the best-known DATs, have fallen lately after strong runs over the past year, prompting talk of consolidation as weaker players struggle and stronger ones eye peers’ token stacks.

Strategy did not make the S&P 500 in Friday’s index reshuffle despite meeting eligibility criteria. Its shares have gone mostly nowhere since April even as Bitcoin climbed, pulling the multiple of its Bitcoin to market value (mNAV) to about 1.5.

On Monday, the company bought roughly $217 million of Bitcoin through an at-the-market offering. Strategy did not respond to a request for comment.

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