Pantera: Crypto Treasuries to Consolidate Heavily in 2026
Pantera Capital expects digital asset treasury (DAT) firms to undergo significant consolidation in 2026, forecasting “brutal pruning” that leaves a small number of large, well-capitalized corporate treasuries controlling most Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) accumulation. The firm said smaller participants are likely to be acquired or fall behind, with occasional outliers among long-tail tokens.
So far this year, the trend has been most evident in Bitcoin and Ether holdings, with the best-funded buyers dominating acquisitions.
Source: Pantera Capital
Ether holdings concentrate among a few corporate buyers
BitMine, the largest corporate holder of Ether, has continued accumulating in the new year. The company reported purchasing 35,268 ETH for about $104 million in the week leading up to Tuesday. Since the start of the year, it has acquired a total of 92,511 ETH for about $277 million and now holds 3.48% of the total Ether supply.
Hong Kong-based Trend Research has bought 41,500 ETH for about $126 million in 2026, while other Ether-focused DATs have not disclosed new purchases. Trend Research is financing its Ether accumulation through decentralized borrowing on lending protocol Aave, rather than using traditional fundraising methods such as share issuance.
Bitcoin treasuries dominated by Strategy
On the Bitcoin side, accumulation is even more concentrated. Strategy, led by Michael Saylor, remained the leading buyer among publicly listed corporate holders. Last week, the company acquired 22,306 BTC for about $2.13 billion, bringing its total to 709,715 BTC purchased for about $53.9 billion at an average price of $75,979 per BTC.
Strategy’s Bitcoin purchases since November 2025. Source: Strategy
Data from Bitcoinquant indicates corporate Bitcoin treasuries collectively hold about 1.13 million BTC, or roughly 5.4% of total supply, though the figure varies depending on how treasury entities are defined.
The increasing concentration of BTC and ETH among a limited number of corporate buyers underscores the challenges facing smaller DATs, particularly those that relied on debt or equity issuance in prior market cycles. At the end of December, crypto treasury firm ETHZilla sold $74.5 million worth of Ether to repay senior secured convertible notes, highlighting the financial pressures on less-capitalized firms.
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