Companies managing treasuries in crypto are facing increasing financial pressure after Bitcoin and Ethereum have fallen by nearly 30% in a week, wiping out an estimated unrealized value of 25 billion dollars from digital asset balance sheets.
The data monitoring listed companies with treasury in crypto shows that currently none hold assets with a value exceeding their average cost price. The sharp decline has pushed many treasury strategies into negative territory, raising concerns about liquidity, financing, and long-term profitability.
The sell-off has hit companies with large treasuries simultaneously.
Large holders have recorded the most significant paper losses, dragging the unrealized profit and total loss sharply into negative territory. The losses are unrealized, but their magnitude is important because it weakens balance sheets and stock valuations.
As a result, the market has shifted its focus from rewarding the accumulation of crypto to assessing the survival risk.
Market premiums have collapsed
A key signal of stress is the collapse of the market net asset value (mNAV), which compares a company's stock valuation to the value of its crypto holdings.
Several large treasury companies are now trading below a mNAV of 1, meaning the market values their equity at a lower price than the value of the assets they hold. This eliminates the possibility of raising capital efficiently through the issuance of shares without suffering dilution.
MicroStrategy, one of the largest corporate holders of Bitcoin, is currently trading below the value of its assets despite holding tens of billions of dollars in crypto.
This discount limits its flexibility to finance further purchases or refinance at low cost.
Unrealized losses alone do not cause a bankruptcy. Risk increases when falling asset prices meet financial leverage, debt deadlines, or a constant cash outflow.
Mining companies and treasury vehicles that rely on external financing are the most exposed. If crypto prices remain low, lenders may tighten conditions, stock markets may stay closed, and refinancing options could dwindle.
This creates a vicious cycle. Lower prices reduce equity value, limit access to capital, and increase pressure on balance sheets.
A phase of stress, not a crash
The current decline reflects a forced deleveraging and tighter financial conditions, rather than a failure of the crypto assets themselves.
However, if prices do not recover and capital markets remain restrictive, stress could potentially intensify.
For now, crypto treasury companies remain solvent. But the margin for error has drastically reduced.
