Pantera Capital: The Corporate Crypto Treasury in 2026 Will Face 'Brutal Elimination', Market Likely to be Dominated by a Few Institutional Giants
Recently, the well-known crypto investment firm Pantera Capital released a report predicting that corporate digital asset treasury (DAT) companies will enter a 'brutal elimination' competition in 2026, ultimately dominated by a few large enterprises with strong capital.
The report points out that the capital-rich leading giants will continue to dominate the acquisition of Bitcoin and Ethereum, while many smaller participants will be acquired or eliminated for failing to keep up, ultimately leading to a market landscape dominated by a few large enterprises.
Analysis suggests that, based on this situation, the current cryptocurrency market has shown signs of centralization. Taking the leading firm Strategy as an example, it recently made a purchase of over $2.1 billion, resulting in the firm's current BTC holdings accounting for about 3.38% of the total supply.
Moreover, Ethereum holdings are similarly concentrated among a few institutions. For instance, BitMine controls about 3.48% of the total supply, while other institutions like Trend Research are financing their purchases of Ethereum through DeFi lending protocols.
This highly concentrated situation also poses severe sustainability questions for smaller DAT companies that relied on debt or equity financing for expansion during the bull market and have insufficient capital reserves.
For example, at the end of last year, the crypto asset management firm ETHZilla was forced to sell $74.5 million worth of Ethereum to repay financing debts, which is a typical example of the financial pressure facing DAT companies.
Overall, Pantera's report sounds the alarm for the 'corporate crypto treasury' trend, as this field transitions from the early broad experimental phase into a brutal selection phase determined by capital scale, financing costs, and financial stability.
In 2026, the market will witness financially stable giants continue to expand, while smaller participants lacking strength will face immense survival pressure. This consolidation will not only reshape the corporate holding landscape but may also affect the distribution of core crypto assets and market stability.
