Pantera Highlights Equity Bets on Firms Adopting Digital Asset Treasury Approaches

Pantera Bets on Equity-Based Crypto Exposure as ‘Digital Asset Treasury’ Model Gains Momentum

Pantera Capital is backing a new generation of public companies embedding crypto directly into their corporate treasury strategies — a move the firm believes will reshape how traditional investors access the digital asset market.

In a Thursday investor memo, Pantera outlined its investments in several Nasdaq-listed firms that hold significant reserves of bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), and solana (SOL), framing them as part of a growing cohort of “Digital Asset Treasury” (DAT) stocks.

Among the top holdings: Twenty One Capital (CEP), a bitcoin-focused treasury vehicle led by Strike founder Jack Mallers and funded by Tether, SoftBank, and Cantor Fitzgerald; DeFi Development Corp (DFDV), which is anchored in the Solana ecosystem; and Sharplink Gaming (SBET), an Ethereum-aligned player backed by ConsenSys.

These companies represent a distinct on-ramp to crypto exposure, according to Pantera General Partner Cosmo Jiang. Rather than forcing investors to manage private keys or navigate decentralized platforms, DAT firms offer traditional stock ownership with built-in crypto upside.

“The model mirrors MicroStrategy’s aggressive BTC play, but with a diversified asset base and broader thematic relevance,” Jiang wrote. “They behave like proxy ETFs with equity upside.”

Pantera argues that, under favorable market conditions, these companies could outperform the underlying tokens themselves — particularly if they employ strategies like yield optimization, strategic treasury growth, or leveraged token exposure per share.

Still, the memo acknowledged risks: equity dilution, opaque balance sheets, or weak treasury management could erode investor confidence. 10x Research recently pointed out that MicroStrategy underperformed bitcoin during its most recent surge, despite record token holdings.

Nonetheless, Pantera views these bets as long-term plays on crypto’s integration into corporate finance, with DAT firms offering a compelling hybrid between growth equity and digital asset exposure.