Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan believes digital asset treasuries will lose investor confidence if they keep taking shortcuts. He said the firms that survive will be the ones doing the hard work.
Speaking on X, Hougan explained that investors can now get the same exposure through crypto exchange-traded funds. “Buying a crypto asset and putting it on a balance sheet today isn’t hard,” he wrote. “It was hard once, but not anymore.”
He added that if all a digital asset treasury does is hold coins, or even stake them, it adds little value. ETFs now include staking options too, offering a simpler, cheaper alternative.
Hougan said the next phase for digital asset treasuries depends on innovation. Companies must design financial structures or business models around their holdings rather than just storing tokens.
Bitwise itself runs several ETFs, including one for Solana that pays staking rewards. Hougan said such vehicles make it easy for anyone to gain exposure without holding coins directly. That, he argued, raises the bar for what treasuries must do to justify their existence.
He warned that firms taking the easy route will likely trade below their net asset value. Only those creating new financial opportunities, through leverage, debt issuance, or product development, will trade at a premium.
Hougan pointed to MicroStrategy, now known simply as Strategy, as a company that chose a harder path and stuck with it. The firm owns roughly $66 billion worth of Bitcoin and carries $8 billion in debt.
Raising that kind of capital inside a corporate structure, Hougan said, is extremely difficult. Strategy’s ability to issue debt and build on its Bitcoin position shows a level of conviction few others match.
By using convertible debt and preferred shares, the company can keep expanding its Bitcoin base in favorable markets. Hougan said this sort of strategic execution shows what separates serious operators from copycats.
Hougan’s comments arrive as digital asset treasuries face tighter scrutiny. Data from Artemis shows their market value ratios, once above 25, have fallen toward 1.0. That means investors are treating most treasuries as little more than the value of their tokens.
CoinGecko’s latest report found that stocks of companies switching to crypto often jump in the first ten days, but then drop just as fast. Many of those pivots, the report said, seem aimed at quick publicity rather than long-term strategy.
Hougan ended by reminding followers that digital asset treasuries are still companies. Those who take on real challenges tend to earn respect and value over time. The rest fade. The question now: who is ready to do the hard work?
Matt Hougan’s remarks underline a clear message: digital asset treasuries must innovate beyond holding crypto to remain credible. Firms like Strategy show that taking the hard path builds real value, while shortcuts risk fading investor confidence and long-term market relevance.
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