Crypto Treasury Firms Under Fire for Fueling Market Downturn

As Bitcoin prices continue to slide, a Columbia Business School professor is pointing the finger at an unexpected culprit: crypto treasury companies.

Omid Malekan, blockchain author and adjunct professor at Columbia, argued that digital asset treasuries (DATs), companies that hold cryptocurrencies on their balance sheets, have played a major role in accelerating the market’s recent decline.

“Any analysis of why crypto prices continue to fall needs to include DATs,” Malekan wrote in an X post on Tuesday. “In aggregate they turned out to be a mass extraction and exit event, a reason for prices to go down.”

Malekan said only a handful of these firms genuinely tried to “create sustainable value,” describing most as opportunistic players who viewed crypto treasuries as a quick way to make money.

Millions Raised, Little Value Created

According to Malekan, the structure of many of these firms was flawed from the start. Launching public entities through special-purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) or similar vehicles required millions in fees for bankers and lawyers. Those expenses, he said, were often funded directly by investor capital — leaving little for real value creation.

“The money spent on those fees had to come from somewhere,” he noted.

Many treasury companies leveraged their holdings through share sales, convertible notes, or debt offerings. That leverage, analysts warn, can amplify downturns if firms are forced to sell into a falling market.

Others attempted to generate returns by staking tokens or deploying funds into lending and liquidity protocols, strategies that added further risk to already volatile portfolios.

Malekan criticized the broader impact of these practices, saying that DATs created “a mass exit event for supposedly locked tokens” and contributed to overinflated token supplies. “Raising too much money and minting too many tokens, even if they are locked or for ecosystem growth, is the gangrene of crypto,” he said.

Market Decline and Macro Pressures

Bitcoin has traded between $99,600 and $113,500 over the past week, slipping from its early October peak above $126,000, according to CoinGecko. It is now changing hands at $101,696.00.

While analysts have largely blamed global economic factors, including ongoing U.S.-China trade tensions, for the market’s weakness, Malekan’s comments add a new layer to the conversation: that internal structural issues within the crypto industry may be deepening the drop.

Treasury Trend Booms Despite Risks

Despite the criticism, the trend of corporate crypto treasuries shows no signs of slowing. A recent report from asset manager Bitwise found that as of October 2025, 207 companies collectively hold more than one million Bitcoin, valued at over $101 billion.

Ethereum is also gaining traction in corporate balance sheets. Data from Strategic ETH Reserve shows 70 companies holding a combined 6.14 million Ether, worth more than $20 billion.

Industry analysts predict the sector will soon consolidate, with only a few large, well-capitalized players surviving as the cycle matures. Others believe treasury firms will pivot into broader Web3 ventures in an effort to sustain investor interest.

As Malekan cautions, however, the lesson may already be clear: unchecked financial engineering and excessive token issuance can turn the promise of digital assets into yet another cautionary tale.