A new 10X Research report has revealed that retail investors have collectively lost around $17 billion through their exposure to Bitcoin Treasury Companies (DATCOs) such as MicroStrategy (MSTR) and Metaplanet. The report attributes these losses to collapsing stock premiums and Bitcoin’s recent price decline, signaling waning investor enthusiasm for crypto-linked equities.
According to 10X Research, many investors sought indirect Bitcoin exposure through DATCOs, which issue shares at a premium to their underlying BTC holdings. These firms then use the raised funds to purchase more Bitcoin — a strategy that thrived during bullish markets. However, as Bitcoin’s momentum cooled, these valuation premiums collapsed, leaving shareholders facing substantial losses.
The research estimates that investors overpaid by approximately $20 billion through inflated equity premiums, with total losses reaching $17 billion as DATCO stock prices tumbled. Despite companies collectively raising over $86 billion in 2025 to buy cryptocurrencies — a figure that exceeds all U.S. IPOs this year — Bitcoin-linked equities have underperformed the broader market.
MicroStrategy’s MSTR stock has dropped more than 20% since August, while Tokyo-based Metaplanet’s shares have plunged over 60%. Their market-to-net-asset-value (mNAV) ratios, once a sign of investor confidence, have deteriorated sharply. MicroStrategy now trades near 1.4x its BTC holdings, while Metaplanet slipped below 1.0x, indicating shares are trading below their Bitcoin-backed value.
10X Research concluded that the collapse of DATCO premiums marks “the end of financial alchemy” for Bitcoin treasuries. With market euphoria fading, these companies must now prove their worth through earnings discipline rather than speculative hype. As volatility drops and easy gains disappear, analysts believe the next phase will test which firms can still generate real alpha in a maturing digital asset market.
