-
Back to menu
Prices
-
Back to menu
-
Back to menu
Indices -
Back to menu
Research
-
Back to menu
Events -
Back to menu
Sponsored
-
Back to menu
Videos -
Back to menu
-
Back to menu
-
Back to menu
Webinars
Select Language
By Krisztian Sandor, James Van Straten|Edited by Stephen Alpher
Aug 15, 2025, 3:54 p.m.
- Digital asset treasury firms experienced significant sell-offs as the crypto rally lost momentum.
- Strategy (MSTR) fell 3%, down 33% from its November 2024 high. Ether-focused BMNR, SBET posted bigger losses.
- The move coincided with bitcoin and ether sharply reversing from big moves higher less than two days ago.
Digital asset treasury (DAT) firms, seen as high-beta plays on crypto prices, sold off sharply on Friday as the August crypto rally showed signs of exhaustion.
Strategy (MSTR) fell another 3% on Friday, extending its decline to 20% since July’s high and 33% from the November 2024 all-time high. The MSTR/IBIT ratio dropped to 5.43, its lowest since March, signaling continued underperformance against BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and a return to levels last seen at the start of the year.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Other bitcoin treasury stocks also declined, with Metaplanet (3350) down 9% and Nakamoto (NAKA) off 12% following the completion of its merger with KindlyMD to form a new bitcoin treasury entity.
Breaking from the trend, KULR Technology (KULR) gained over 5% after reporting second quarter revenue growth of 63% year-over-year, the highest in its history, driven by its bitcoin-first balance sheet strategy.
Firms with ETH-heavy portfolios suffered steeper losses.
Bitmine Immersion Technologies and SharpLink Gaming, the two most prominent Ethereum strategy firms, declined 7% and 14%, respectively, in the early hours of the session.
Solana-focused companies weren’t spared either. Upexi (UPXI) plunged over 9%, while DeFi Development (DFDV) was 5% lower.
The move coincided with bitcoin
sliding below $117,000, extending its reversal from Thursday’s short-lived spike to $124,000, a new all-time high. Ether(ETH)tumbled back after challenging its record high above $4,800, now barely holding the $4,400 level.
DATs pursue a strategy to raise funds by selling equity and debt to accumulate cryptocurrencies, a playbook pioneered by Michael Saylor’s Strategy. They are seen as a high-beta play on crypto prices, rising more when the underlying asset rallies, but suffering bigger drawdowns when the market cools.
Most crypto-related stocks also traded lower during the session. Bitcoin miner Riot Platform and digital asset conglomerate Galaxy (GLXY) were lower by roughly 8%. Coinbase (COIN) was modestly down 1.6%, while Circle (CRCL) gained 3.5% following the successful completion of a secondary share offering.
Read more: Bitcoin Rally Stalls on U.S. Inflation, Policy Whiplash: Crypto Daybook Americas
Krisztian Sandor is a U.S. markets reporter focusing on stablecoins, tokenization, real-world assets. He graduated from New York University’s business and economic reporting program before joining CoinDesk. He holds BTC, SOL and ETH.
James Van Straten is a Senior Analyst at CoinDesk, specializing in Bitcoin and its interplay with the macroeconomic environment. Previously, James worked as a Research Analyst at Saidler & Co., a Swiss hedge fund, where he developed expertise in on-chain analytics. His work focuses on monitoring flows to analyze Bitcoin’s role within the broader financial system.
In addition to his professional endeavors, James serves as an advisor to Coinsilium, a UK publicly traded company, where he provides guidance on their Bitcoin treasury strategy. He also holds investments in Bitcoin and Strategy (MSTR).
More For You
By CD Analytics, Oliver Knight
52 minutes ago
XLM trades in a tight range with strong support at $0.42 as record wallet growth and rising total value locked fuel optimism for a push toward the $0.50 resistance — and potentially beyond.
What to know:
- XLM traded between $0.42 and $0.43 over the past 24 hours, facing late-session profit-taking but maintaining strong institutional support at $0.42.
- Stellar reached 9.69 million active enterprise wallets and $150M in total value locked, with 5,000–6,000 new institutional addresses added daily.
- Traders eye the $0.47–$0.50 resistance zone, with technical models projecting potential gains toward $0.60–$0.77 if institutional buying accelerates.
