Pantera Capital says 2026 could be the year digital asset treasuries, or DATs, move into a harsh consolidation cycle. The firm described the process as “brutal pruning” and said Bitcoin and Ether treasury strategies may end up dominated by only one or two major players, while smaller companies face acquisition, failure, or withdrawal from the market.
After rapid growth in 2025, competition shifts to survival
According to Pantera, the DAT sector expanded quickly in 2025 as public companies increased their crypto holdings. In 2026, the question may no longer be who entered first, but who can keep raising capital and defend the balance sheet. Pantera expects the concentration trend to be strongest in Bitcoin and Ether treasuries, while projects tied to long-tail tokens may have only limited room to remain active.
For Bitcoin, Strategy, led by Michael Saylor, remains the clearest example of scale. Pantera noted that the company spent about $2.13 billion last week to buy more than 22,000 BTC, bringing its total holdings close to 710,000 BTC at an average cost of roughly $76,000 per coin. Corporate Bitcoin treasuries now account for about 5.4% of total supply, but those holdings are heavily concentrated among a small group of large firms.
Ether treasury gap widens as financing options diverge
On the Ether side, BitMine remains the largest corporate holder. Pantera said the company has bought more than 92,000 ETH so far this year, with holdings equal to roughly 3.48% of total supply. Hong Kong investment firm Trend Research has also added more than 41,000 ETH through financing on the decentralized lending protocol Aave. Smaller Ether treasury companies, by contrast, have disclosed few new moves, a sign that capital strength is separating participants more clearly.
Pantera’s argument centers on capital efficiency and access to funding. Large, well-capitalized companies can keep accumulating BTC and ETH at lower cost. Smaller firms that depend on debt or equity issuance to sustain treasury strategies are more exposed when markets swing or funding conditions tighten.
Debt stress is already visible in the sector
Pantera pointed to ETHZilla, which sold Ether late last year to repay debt. That episode shows how treasury strategies can come under pressure when liabilities become harder to manage. As Bitcoin and Ether take on a larger role in corporate balance sheets, Pantera expects the winner-take-most structure to become clearer in 2026, leaving weaker firms to exit or be absorbed by larger operators.