Only “Hard” DATs Deserve Premiums, Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan

Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan has weighed in on the growing debate over Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs). He argues that only companies executing complex, value-adding crypto strategies deserve to trade at a premium.

The comments come amid a sharp revaluation in the DAT sector. Most firms’ market net asset values (mNAVs) have converged toward 1.0.

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Matt Hougan Says Only “Hard” DATs Deserve Market Premiums

Hougan explained that some DATs should trade at or above their NAV, while others should trade at or below their NAV. In his opinion, the best way to tell which DATs are worth paying attention to is to ask: Are they doing something hard?

Hougan distinguishes companies that buy and hold crypto assets and those that actively build financial structures or strategic models around their holdings.

“Buying a crypto asset and putting it on a balance sheet today isn’t hard,” he said, adding that ETFs now offer staking options that replicate the same exposure with lower friction.

He singled out MicroStrategy (now Strategy) as the standout example of a DAT executing a difficult but rewarding strategy.

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MicroStrategy already owns $66.22 billion of Bitcoin against $8 billion of debt, and it is issuing debt against that position.

Hougan notes that it is challenging to raise that much in equity capital to buy Bitcoin in a corporate structure, particularly when debt-free.

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Why “Doing Hard Things” May Define the Next Phase of DAT Survival

According to the Bitwise executive, this ability to leverage corporate financing tools, such as convertible debt or preferred shares, to accumulate more Bitcoin gives MicroStrategy a structural advantage that can justify its market premium under certain conditions.

“There are other interesting things DATs can do that are hard,” he added, pointing to strategies like writing covered calls, participating carefully in DeFi, or making smart loans. “These aren’t all necessarily good ideas, and not everyone will do them well. But they are not trivial, and if done well, there is a chance they will be rewarded.”

By contrast, Hougan warned that DATs taking the “lazy approach” of simply holding a crypto asset will likely trade at a discount to their underlying holdings.

“In the end, DATs are just companies,” he said. “Good companies get rewarded for doing hard things well over time. Bad companies that execute poorly or try to take the easy route to riches get punished.”

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Hougan’s remarks come as the DAT sector faces growing scrutiny following a collapse in market premiums. On-chain data platform Artemis reported this week that the mNAV of DAT firms, which measures market capitalization relative to digital asset value, has fallen sharply, with ratios that once exceeded 25 now converging toward 1.0.

The recalibration follows BeInCrypto’s earlier report that Metaplanet’s mNAV slipped below parity to 0.99 despite strong revenue growth.

Metaplanet has since recovered, but the broader trend reflects the market’s shift toward more cautious valuations.

Against this backdrop, Hougan articulates that DATs must prove their operational edge to justify investor confidence. In a tightening market, doing hard things could define which digital asset firms survive.