Crypto treasury companies reach $340B market cap as DATs outperform traditional crypto exposure

The collective market capitalization of Digital Asset Treasury Companies, known as DATs or DATCos, has climbed to roughly $340 billion, marking a 10% increase since mid-August. That figure puts this rapidly growing class of publicly traded crypto-holding firms in the same valuation neighborhood as companies like Netflix or Salesforce. What started as a fringe corporate strategy pioneered by a handful of firms in 2020 has ballooned into a full-blown sector. The number of DATs has grown from roughly four companies five years ago to 142 by the end of 2025, with 76 of those formed this year alone. What exactly is a DAT, and why do investors care A Digital Asset Treasury Company is a publicly traded firm that treats cryptocurrency accumulation as a core part of its balance sheet. Instead of buying Bitcoin directly, investors buy equity in a company that holds Bitcoin (or Ethereum, or Solana) for them. Strategy, the firm formerly known as MicroStrategy, remains the undisputed heavyweight of the sector. The company holds hundreds of thousands of BTC on its balance sheet and carries a market capitalization of approximately $42.5 billion. Its playbook, pioneered by executive chairman Michae...