- FreedX CBO Anton Golub notes that DATs are losing money and advises those seeking exposure to Bitcoin to buy BTC instead.
Did you buy into the digital asset treasury (DAT) hype in 2025? Financial expert Anton Golub, Chief Business Officer of FreedX, claimed that people who bought into the craze and failed to cash out at the peak of these stocks’ values could be losing money now.
What’s worse, he warned that these companies may not survive 2026.
DATs are ‘Not a Real Business,’ Buy BTC Instead
According to Golub, “DATs are not a real business to invest in.” He explained that a business must have something to offer, like actual products and services.
For him, DATs do not really offer anything tangible and may be prone to mispriced converts and warrants, which they sell to hedge funds. In return, they offer high-yield preferred shares backed by Bitcoin (BTC), a technique that Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) popularized. Additionally, they frame themselves as a Bitcoin proxy with leverage.
With that, the CBO of the FreedX exchange boldly stated that DATs will collapse. He said they are merely volatility products for hedge funds, which do not favor retail investors. Hence, he recommended people who want exposure to Bitcoin to buy BTC instead.
Strategy Showing -53% 1Y Return and -65% from Peak Price
Golub highlighted that the biggest DAT, Strategy is now 53% down in 2025 and has fallen 65% from its peak. To date, the price of MSTR is at $158.81 with a market cap of $49.25 billion.
The Michael Saylor co-founded Strategy possesses 671,268 BTC, translating to approximately $60.41 billion as the asset recovered to $90K per coin on Monday morning. As of its disclosure last week, it has already invested $50.33 billion in Bitcoin at an average of $74,972 per BTC, but its mNAV (Market-Adjusted Net Asset Value) cautiously sits at 1.05.
Meanwhile, Tokyo-listed MetaPlanet may have recovered to 6% in 2025 but has dropped 77% from its peak, which spells bad news for investors who bought its shares at the top. Other big DATs like Marathon Digital fell 50% this year and 60% from its peak, and Twenty One Capital tanked 9% this year and 85% from its peak.
However, the FreedX senior exec clarified that not all companies that hold Bitcoin are DATs. One example is Tesla, which may be holding Bitcoin in its treasury, but its core business is not reliant on the price appreciation of its BTC holdings.
Disclaimer: The analysis and commentary featured in this article are only for informational purposes. They do not constitute financial advice or a product recommendation from the author or the Blockzeit team.
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