A growing number of digital-asset treasury companies are pivoting toward artificial intelligence after crypto losses crushed their share prices. The strategy has yet to revive investor confidence, while former bitcoin miners have found more success repurposing infrastructure for AI.
Key Takeaways
K Wave Media fell 71% after its May AI pivot, as crypto treasury firms chased new growth.Bloomberg’s tracked treasury stocks sank 43%, while bitcoin dropped 27% in 2026.Coreweave’s $40B success shows miners with power assets may lead the next AI shift.The collapse of the crypto treasury trade is pushing struggling public companies toward the market’s newest source of investor enthusiasm: artificial intelligence.
K Wave Media, once focused on accumulating bitcoin, has fallen 71% since turning toward data center development in May. Lixte Biotechnology has lost 33% since agreeing to merge with a battery company in June. Alphaton Capital, previously a holder of alternative cryptocurrencies, is down 33% since rebranding as Alpha Compute in April. Industry observers reckon that most digital-asset treasury firms are either moving into AI or dying a slow death.
Crypto Treasury Premiums DisappearDigital-asset treasury companies raised capital and issued stock to buy cryptocurrencies, hoping their shares would trade at a premium to the value of those holdings.
The model flourished as token prices climbed. It began to unravel once many companies fell below the net value of their crypto reserves.
U.S. and Canadian treasury stocks tracked by Bloomberg have posted a median decline of 43% this year. With bitcoin posting a 49% decline from its October peak and ether dropping 62% from its August 2025 record, companies are instead exploring data centers, space businesses and small nuclear reactors.
Miners Have a Stronger Route Into AIThe rush toward AI mirrors earlier corporate attempts to attach themselves to popular themes, from dot-com names in the 1990s to blockchain pivots in the following decades.
Coreweave began as a miner before becoming a cloud-computing provider. It now has a market value of about $40 billion, with its shares up 80% since its March 2025 initial public offering.
“I think DATs, as we’ve seen them, are probably done,” said Daniel Forman, a partner at Lowenstein Sandler.
