Crypto Treasury Inflows Fall to 2024 Low

Capital flowing into digital asset treasury (DAT) companies slowed significantly in May, with monthly inflows dropping to just $180 million, their lowest level since October 2024, according to data from DefiLlama.

The May figure represented a 95% decline compared to April’s $4.4 billion and was roughly 93% lower than the average monthly inflows recorded between January and May. The slowdown followed two exceptionally strong months, during which DAT companies attracted approximately $4.2 billion in March and $4.4 billion in April.

Bitcoin-focused treasury firms remained the dominant recipients of capital, accounting for roughly $177 million, or 98%, of total inflows during May. However, even Bitcoin treasury inflows fell sharply from the $3.8 billion recorded in April. Outside of Bitcoin, treasury allocations remained limited. Small inflows were recorded for ZCash, Story and Sui, while Litecoin experienced net outflows totaling approximately $1.89 million.

The decline in inflows suggests investors may be reevaluating passive treasury strategies as exchange-traded funds (ETFs), narrowing net asset value premiums and increasing pressure to generate yield challenge the appeal of companies that simply accumulate digital assets.

Industry shifts beyond passive accumulation

The latest slowdown comes as analysts increasingly argue that treasury companies must evolve beyond the traditional capital-raising and asset-holding model that gained popularity during 2025. Financial services firm Galaxy Digital previously stated that the era of simple "raise-and-hold" treasury strategies has come to an end.

According to the company, treasury firms may increasingly need to deploy assets through staking, validator operations, decentralized finance (DeFi) strategies or other active treasury management approaches rather than relying solely on token accumulation.

A report published on May 26 by staking infrastructure provider Everstake highlighted similar challenges facing Ether treasury companies. The report suggested that staking and other yield-generating strategies are becoming increasingly important as spot crypto ETFs reduce the attractiveness of publicly listed companies whose primary function is holding ETH. According to Everstake, staking-related activities accounted for an average of 60% of reported revenue among six treasury firms that disclosed income generated through staking operations.

ETFs and valuation pressure reshape the market

Arthur Firstov, chief business officer at payments infrastructure company Mercuryo, said that attributing the changing outlook for treasury firms solely to ETFs overlooks broader market factors.

According to Firstov, while ETFs provide institutions with a low-cost and liquid way to gain cryptocurrency exposure, treasury companies must also contend with challenges such as share dilution, operating expenses, balance sheet volatility and changing investor sentiment. “ETFs do impose a structural constraint that didn’t exist before,” Firstov said. “They set a permanent ceiling on what premium treasury firms can charge. Every quarter now requires fresh justification for that markup.”

For companies holding proof-of-stake assets such as Ether, staking may improve capital efficiency by creating recurring revenue streams. However, Firstov cautioned that yield generation alone cannot resolve underlying structural issues.

He argued that firms burdened by high operating costs or continual shareholder dilution “cannot math” their way out with a 3% to 5% staking yield, highlighting the growing importance of sustainable business models as the digital asset treasury sector matures.

Sources:

https://www.galaxy.com/insights/research/digital-asset-treasury-companies-dat-staking

https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-treasury-inflows-may-lowest-october-2024

https://defillama.com/digital-asset-treasuries?groupBy=monthly