Pantera Capital has committed $300 million to a fast-emerging class of companies known as digital asset treasuries (DATs), predicting that their returns could surpass those of traditional crypto exchange-traded funds.

Why Pantera is Backing DATs

According to Cosmo Jiang, general partner at Pantera, and Erik Lowe, the firm’s head of content, DATs have a unique advantage: they can generate additional yield and steadily increase net asset value per share. This approach enables them to grow their underlying crypto holdings more efficiently than simply holding tokens directly or via spot ETFs.

Pantera’s portfolio includes U.S. and U.K.-based firms with significant reserves in Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and various altcoins. Jiang and Lowe emphasized that these companies deploy innovative capital strategies to expand token reserves in a “per-share accretive” manner.

BitMine’s Meteoric Rise

A standout holding in Pantera’s DAT Fund is BitMine Immersion Technologies, chaired by Tom Lee. In a matter of weeks, BitMine has become the largest Ether treasury holder globally and the third-largest crypto-holding public company overall.

• Current ETH holdings: ~1.2 million ETH (≈ $5.3 billion)

• Long-term target: Acquire 5% of Ethereum’s total supply

BitMine’s growth strategy includes:

• Issuing stock at a premium to net asset value

• Using convertible bonds to monetize volatility

• Generating yield via staking and DeFi protocols

Since beginning its ETH acquisition plan in late June, BitMine’s shares (BMNR) have soared over 1,300%, far outpacing Ether’s roughly 90% gain over the same period.

Growing Institutional Interest — and Rising Risks

Pantera anticipates that top-performing DATs will increasingly attract institutional capital, citing support from notable investors like Stan Druckenmiller, Bill Miller, and ARK Invest.

However, the sector’s rapid growth has raised cautionary voices. Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s co-founder, has warned that overleveraging could jeopardize these companies during market downturns. Similarly, Framework Ventures co-founder Vance Spencer has cautioned that a large share of ETH owned by treasuries may flow into lending platforms and yield farming strategies — potentially heightening systemic risk.

Analysts at Standard Chartered and VanEck have echoed such warnings, noting that Bitcoin-focused treasury firms could hurt shareholder value if prices decline sharply, particularly for those pursuing aggressive accumulation strategies.