Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan highlights common mispricing in Digital Asset Treasury Companies (DATs). He urges investors to consider valuation beyond simple crypto holdings as these firms navigate complex financial dynamics.
DATs now manage over $130 billion in digital assets, serving as vital links between traditional capital markets and direct cryptocurrency exposure. Their unique position brings new valuation challenges that set them apart from other investment vehicles.
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Bitwise Just Revealed 3 Ways to Value DATs: All You Need to Know
Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan warns that most DATs are mispriced. While many trade at a discount to their assets, a few can trade at a premium by boosting crypto-per-share.
Hougan’s framework offers investors a clear way to separate the winners from the laggards.
Why Most DATs Trade at a Discount
Hougan highlights three main reasons DATs usually underperform:
- Illiquidity: Investors demand a 5–10% discount if assets aren’t immediately accessible.
- Expenses: Operational costs and executive compensation directly reduce value.
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For example, $100 of Bitcoin minus $10 of expenses per share equals a 10% discount.
- Risk: Mistakes, market shifts, or execution errors further lower valuations.
“…most of the reasons they should trade at a discount are certain, and most of the reasons they might trade at a premium are uncertain,” Hougan says.
This means the majority of DATs will underperform relative to their net asset value (mNAV).
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How DATs Can Trade at a Premium
Some DATs outperform by increasing crypto-per-share, with Hougan identifying four key strategies:
- Issuing Debt: Borrowing USD to buy crypto can grow per-share holdings if prices rise.
- Lending Crypto: Earning interest compounds the crypto held by the company.
- Using Derivatives: Writing options or similar strategies generates additional assets, though it may limit upside.
- Acquiring Crypto at a Discount: Buying undervalued assets, repurchasing shares, or acquiring cash-flow businesses can increase crypto-per-share efficiently.
The Bitwise executive articulates that scale matters, noting that larger DATs can access debt more easily, lend more crypto, and take advantage of M&A opportunities. Size is a structural advantage.
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Market Differentiation Is Coming
DATs have historically moved together, but Hougan predicts increased divergence.
- Premium DATs: Executing well, growing crypto-per-share, leveraging scale.
- Discount DATs: Struggling with expenses, risk, or small scale.
Investors can use Hougan’s approach, calculating expenses, risk, and growth potential, to determine fair value.
Investors should also watch:
- Which DATs consistently increase crypto-per-share.
- How scale gives certain DATs a long-term edge.
- Market moves that create opportunities to buy undervalued DATs.
With the market set for more differentiation, understanding Hougan’s framework could separate winners from losers amid a growing digital asset treasury space.
