Bitcoin treasuries’ chances of big returns likely fading, says Ledn CEO

The Block

Aug 23, 2025 04:15:08

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Ledn CEO and co-founder Adam Reeds' belief in Bitcoin as a reserve asset is rock solid, but he thinks recent movements in the market demonstrate a shift for digital asset treasury (DAT) companies keen on stockpiling BTC.

"Bitcoin treasury companies have been an incredible innovation for the space. What may be fading is the ability to get a 3x return," Reeds told The Block on Friday. "MicroStrategy in the last five years did 24X versus Bitcoin, which did 10X. I can't see that happening again."

For more than a week, there have been signs suggesting the crypto treasury boom — primarily led by companies attempting to emulate Michael Saylor's Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) — has cooled. Some firms have even begun offloading a portion of their treasury holdings or have begun buying back stock.

After the total market capitalization for cryptocurrencies recently hit an all-time high of nearly $4.3 trillion the market then slumped below $4 trillion. In parallel, the total market cap of DATs fell below $150 billion, according to The Block Data Dashboard. The cumulative market cap for Bitcoin treasuries also dropped from $165 billion about a month ago to $134 billion, even as bitcoin's price held relatively steady.

Since Strategy's shares hit a July high of about $455, they have since declined to about $359 as of Friday afternoon, according to The Block's Strategy price page.

Notably, Tokyo-listed Bitcoin treasury Metaplanet's shares have also declined by over 30% in the last month.

"What's fading is the ability to create unique propositions," said Reeds. "Most of the CEOs of digital asset companies are saying that their sole purpose has to be able to generate more Bitcoin per share than you can get ... [but] do they really have the unique management team? Do they really have unique capital connections to be able to do that and beat the underlying?"

The total market cap for cryptocurrencies rebounded on Friday, surpassing $4.1 billion. Ethereum, Solana, and Dogecoin were all notably up significantly after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell gave his strongest suggestion yet of an interest rate cut next month.

Ledn, a crypto lending platform focused on Bitcoin, has processed over $10 billion in loans, according to the company.

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.