Crypto treasuries: 1.3M BTC and 5.5M ETH, bubble or new standard

TL;DR

• Recently, digital asset treasuries aggregate approximately 1.3M BTC and 5.5M ETH according to third-party estimates: BitcoinTreasuries.net and industry analysis collected by Chainalysis Research. Data updated as of October 2, 2025.
• The sector shows signs of consolidation: stricter selection of projects, better infrastructure, clearer governance rules.
• The “it’s a bubble” thesis coexists, in parallel, with the arrival of more patient and institutional capital, especially on BTC, ETH, SOL, and TON.

The Hook: Record Data, but “It Looks Like a Bubble”

Corporations and foundations continue to accumulate tokens in their treasury, with numbers that surprise even industry insiders. At the Token2049 in Singapore, the CEO of TON Strategy, Daria Kapustina, stated: “it looks like it’s a bubble”.

The contrast is stark: growing figures accompanied by the return of the word “bubble”. In this context, the signal is that the cycle is changing, with new dynamics and greater selectivity from investors, who are more attentive to sustainability and processes.

According to data collected by our research team, which monitored dozens of on-chain balances and corporate reports between 2023 and 2025, many treasuries have indeed reallocated exposures towards assets with greater liquidity and formal custody infrastructures. custody services.

Industry analysts observe an increase in requests for risk management policies and periodic reporting in consultations with foundations and corporates.

Context and Key Statements

Kapustina explained that Digital Asset Treasuries (DAT) have attracted fast capital, but now the focus is shifting to projects with more solid fundamentals, marking a phase of filtering rather than an immediate crash.

It should be noted that the trajectory suggests a shift from indiscriminate growth to operational discipline. She recalled the role of Michael Saylor and MicroStrategy as a model of treasury in Bitcoin.

Recently, the logic has also extended to Ether, Solana, and Toncoin, with TON Strategy active in managing its own treasury and setting up more structured practices.

What’s in DAT treasuries today

• Bitcoin: approximately 1.3 million BTC (aggregated estimate) — source: BitcoinTreasuries.net.
• Ether: approximately 5.5 million ETH (aggregated estimate) — source indicated as “StrategicEthReserve” [data to be verified].

The estimates include governments, publicly traded and private companies, ETFs/ETPs, foundations, and other entities with attributable on-chain balances. The methodology is not uniform across datasets, so comparison requires caution and contextual reading.

That said, the order of magnitude gives an idea of the scale that the DATs have reached and their growing weight in market flows.

Bubble or Consolidation: The Operational Framework

Traders report mixed signals. The bubble narrative coexists with flows towards more liquid assets and with more robust custody and reporting infrastructures.

In the short term, a market pause and asset rotation might prevail, while in the medium term, the entry of more stable capital and stricter due diligence processes is expected. Indeed, the ability to execute with discipline — rather than hype — tends to make the difference when the cycle becomes selective.

3 scenarios for recent DAT

1. Selective consolidation: projects with cash reserves, utility, and transparency endure, while purely speculative vehicles decline. The market’s learning curve translates into clearer preferences and higher entry thresholds.
2. Financial Integration: growth of qualified custody, insurance, independent audits, and potential banking licenses or partnerships. In this framework, treasury mandates are formalized with more rigorous policies.
3. Interoperability and M&A: development of cross-chain bridges, native treasury tools, mergers to increase scale and liquidity. However, the priority remains to reduce operational frictions and execution risks across-chain.

Implications for Governance and Management

• Transparency: public policies on allocation, risk limits, sales criteria, and rebalancing, with periodic communications.
• Risk: development of stress scenarios, volatility management, asset segregation, and hedging where possible, avoiding unnecessary concentrations.
• Security: adoption of institutional custody, multi-sig solutions, access controls, and periodic audits, with segregation of critical functions. For more on technological tools and best practices, see our internal guide on custody and governance of digital treasuries.
• Sustainability: utilization of resources to support the network through staking, development, and grants with measurable indicators, balancing yield and resilience.

DAT Infrastructure: What is Being Built

• Custody services with on-chain attestations, real-time reporting, and third-party audits, oriented towards verifiable standards.
• Toolkit for compliance and accounting with reconciliation between wallet and balance, and traceability of transactions.
• Solutions for treasury management across multiple chains, with automated policies and controls, to reduce errors and approval times. Many providers today offer integrations with ERP systems and reporting for external auditors.
• Technological bridges and liquidity routers to reduce slippage and settlement times, with increased operational reliability.

Impact on Investors and Market

For institutional investors, the quality of infrastructure, transparency of mandates, and resilience in adverse scenarios matter. For networks, the value of DAT depends on strategic utility, security, development, and the ecosystem.

Companies also benefit from diversification but face concentration and compliance risks, while the current trajectory indicates less marketing and more focus on process and accountability.

However, the speed of adoption depends on the credibility of internal practices and the clarity of governance rules.

Finally, for those interested in hardware security tools, choosing Ledger is often recommended as a best practice for securely storing your digital assets.