mNAV Ratio Drops Close to Zero
The mNAV ratio compares a company’s market value with the value of its digital assets (NAV).
- If mNAV is above 1, it means the market believes the company has strong potential beyond its crypto holdings.
- If mNAV is below 1, it means the company’s stock is undervalued, and investors have little confidence in it.
Over the past six months, the mNAV ratio has dropped sharply.
Between May and June, most Digital Asset Technology (DAT) firms had an average mNAV between 1.9 and 2.0, even for assets like Bitcoin (BTC).
Now, the premium is almost gone.
- BTC and ETH DATs: 1.1
- SOL DATs: 1.0
- Even HYPE DATs, once the outliers, have fallen to 2.1
This means investors no longer pay extra to gain crypto exposure through DAT stocks.
Falling Confidence Reflected in Holdings
This drop is also visible in corporate holdings.
- DAT firms’ BTC holdings peaked at $92.6 billion (Oct 6), now down to $78.1 billion.
- ETH holdings fell from $20.6 billion (Oct 27) to $17.6 billion.
These declines suggest that many firms are selling off their crypto assets.
DATs Blamed for Crypto Price Drop
Omid Malekan, Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School, said that the decline of DAT firms is one reason crypto prices are falling.
“DATs have become a major exit event—where a lot of money is pulled out of the market,” said Malekan.
He criticized the DAT business model, noting that going public through shell companies, PIPEs, or SPACs costs millions in fees. Because of these costs, investors end up buying DAT stocks at a discounted value compared to the actual crypto they represent.
“There’s no free lunch,” Malekan added. “Those who claimed DATs were pure upside were completely wrong.”
DATs Must Do More Than Hold Crypto
Matt Hougan, CIO of Bitwise Invest, also warned that simply holding crypto isn’t enough for DAT firms to survive.
“Ask whether these DATs are doing something hard or valuable,” he said.
“If all they do is hold coins, you might as well buy a crypto ETF.”
