The DAT story looked exciting when it first took off in early 2025. Stocks of companies that bought crypto jumped fast and many people thought a new wave of growth had arrived. These firms raised money then used it to buy Bitcoin or other tokens and their stock prices ran even faster. Strategy showed the blueprint and more than 100 companies followed it. Some names went wild. SharpLink shot up more than 2600% in a few days after saying it would pivot into buying Ethereum.
Then the heat faded and the market noticed something simple. Tokens do not create income. Most DATs used debt to buy crypto so now they owe interest and dividends while their cash flow is too weak to support it. Prices collapsed. SharpLink is down 86%. Greenlane is down 99% even though it still has almost 48M in tokens. Across the US and Canada the median DAT stock is down 43% while Bitcoin is only down 6%.
The real fear now is forced selling. DATs raised more than 45B in 2025. They need money to cover payments and that could push them to sell tokens. If the big players sell it could shake the whole market and force weaker DATs into mergers or complete wipeouts.
