Crypto Treasury ‘Easy Money’ Era Ends as Companies Enter ‘Player vs Player’ Competition – Good for Investors?

The corporate crypto treasury movement has reached a critical turning point, transitioning from an era of guaranteed premiums to what Coinbase Research calls a “player-versus-player” competitive ￰1￱ companies now hold over 1 million Bitcoin worth $110 billion, with digital asset treasuries controlling $215 billion across 213 entities. However, new research warns that most participants face potential failure during adverse credit cycles.) August 19, 2025 Strategy abandoned its self-imposed 2.5x market-to-net-asset-value threshold for stock sales after funding pressures mounted, while facing multiple class-action lawsuits over business ￰2￱ Research identifies this transition as moving beyond simple MicroStrategy copycat strategies toward execution-dependent ￰3￱ scarcity premium benefiting early adopters has dissipated, forcing companies to differentiate themselves through strategic positioning rather than merely accumulating ￰4￱ Treasuries Face Structural Vulnerabilities in Rising Rate Environment Earlier last month, Sentora research identified critical flaws in corporate Bitcoin strategies , warning that “idle Bitcoin on a corporate balance sheet is not a scalable strategy in a rising-rate world.” Most Bitcoin treasury companies operate as either unprofitable entities or rely heavily on mark-to-market gains for ￰5￱ strategy mirrors historical wealth-building through leveraged acquisition of scarce assets, but lacks Bitcoin’s evolution from digital property to yield-generating ￰6￱ real estate, which generates rental income, Bitcoin treasury companies engage in negative-carry trades, borrowing fiat currency to acquire non-yielding assets without adequate risk mitigation ￰7￱ utilizes $3.7 billion in ultra-low coupon convertible bonds and $5.5 billion in perpetual preferred shares to finance acquisitions.

Similarly, Metaplanet continues its aggressive accumulation, doubling Bitcoin holdings every 60 days while utilizing zero-interest convertible bonds worth ¥270.36 ￰8￱ finalizes $1.45B share sale to fund Bitcoin purchases, holdings hit $2.25B with 20,136 $BTC as sixth-largest corporate holder. #Bitcoin #Metaplanet ￰0￱ — ￰9￱ (@cryptonews) September 10, 2025 The company recently finalized its $1.45 billion stock sale to fund massive Bitcoin purchases , issuing 385 million shares with settlement scheduled for September ￰10￱ interest rates amplify negative carry effects, while Bitcoin price stagnation over 2-3 years could erode conviction and make equity issuance ￰11￱ Saturation and Regulatory Scrutiny Challenge New Entrants Glassnode analyst James Check has earlier raised concerns over the strategy’s longevity , arguing easy gains have vanished for new entrants as markets ￰12￱ data shows new entities adding BTC holdings at scale are joining every month, but investors increasingly expect clear differentiation beyond basic Bitcoin ￰13￱ analyst Ran Neuner claimed many treasury firms operate as exit vehicles for insiders rather than genuine market ￰14￱ often receive crypto contributions from existing holders in exchange for shares that later trade at massive premiums, allowing early contributors to cash out while retail investors pay 2-4x net asset ￰15￱ Financial Times reported in August that 154 US-listed companies raised $98.4 billion for crypto purchases in 2025, up dramatically from $33.6 billion raised by 10 companies ￰16￱ this month, forward Industries raised $1.65 billion for Solana-based treasuries backed by Galaxy Digital and Jump Crypto, while corporate Ethereum holdings reached $28 billion across multiple entities.