Public companies holding bitcoin are trading at valuations well above the value of their BTC, and it’s not a bug, but a feature. A new report by institutional research firm Caladan finds that investors routinely pay $2 or more for every $1 of bitcoin held by these firms, with the average market cap across 33 companies clocking in at 4.07x their bitcoin net asset value (NAV). The median premium stands at 1.75x, suggesting this pricing is not an outlier—but a market norm.

“The market isn’t just buying bitcoin,” said Derek Lim, Research Lead at Caladan. “It’s buying structure, liquidity, regulation, governance, and the ability to raise capital at scale.”

Caladan breaks the sector into two types: pure bitcoin treasuries, like MicroStrategy (now trading as “Strategy”), and bitcoin mining firms, such as Bitfarms and CleanSpark. While Strategy holds a staggering 628,000 BTC and trades at 1.54x NAV, Bitfarms holds fewer than 1,200 BTC and trades at over 5.0x NAV, a striking illustration that performance and perception outweigh balance sheet size.

The report highlights five key forces driving valuation premiums: capital access, exchange listing, operational transparency, custody infrastructure, and jurisdictional trust. Companies with major exchange listings (NASDAQ, TSX) and active capital-raising programs consistently trade above 1.0x NAV. Those listed OTC with unclear reporting or no institutional participation often trade at deep discounts, sometimes as low as 0.2x NAV.

ETF availability and self-custody haven’t closed the gap. Instead, public equities are being priced as trusted, institutional-grade bitcoin wrappers, offering exposure without the friction of wallets, keys, or regulatory uncertainty.

“Bitcoin alone isn’t enough,” Lim added. “Without strong reporting, named custodians, or capital pipelines, even verified bitcoin gets discounted.”

The findings underscore how far public markets have come since the speculative hype cycles of 2020. What once looked like overvaluation now reflects a maturing framework, where investors are willing to pay a premium for packaged, compliant bitcoin exposure.

As Caladan concludes, this isn’t irrational pricing, it’s the cost of access, trust, and scale in a financialized bitcoin market.

The full report: https://caladan.xyz/bitcoin-dat-report/