Peter Smith, who leads Blockchain.com as co-founder and CEO, sees a future where more companies hold cryptocurrencies in their private treasuries. He believes this isn’t just a fleeting moment. Instead, it’s a trend that will pick up pace quickly. This shift will eventually lead to a wave of mergers and acquisitions, making the market much stronger and more mature.
Smith recently shared his thoughts in an interview with The Block. He explained that as this trend grows, companies will eventually run out of good management teams and available "shell companies" to use. When that happens, the market will see a lot of consolidation. He predicts that the best-managed companies, especially those with access to favorable capital, will absorb many smaller players. "More and more will come, until there are no more teams or ‘shells.’ At that point, it will be very interesting because we will see a lot of consolidation," Smith stated.
Blockchain.com CEO: Crypto Treasury Wave & Consolidation
Peter Smith expects more companies with crypto treasuries and mergers
Strive and Semler add ~11,000 BTC (~USD 1 billion)
DATs (BTC ETH SOL) exceed USD $120 billion, and Blockchain.com invested >USD $200 million pic.twitter.com/8phmbGEo5C
— Diario฿itcoin (@Blaze Trends)
A Big Move for Corporate Bitcoin Holdings
This consolidation is already starting. Just a few days ago, DAT Strive, a company connected to Vivek Ramaswamy, announced it would buy Semler Scientific. Semler Scientific also focuses on keeping Bitcoin in its treasury. This merger will create a new powerhouse firm. It will hold almost 11,000 Bitcoins, valued at over $1 billion.
Mark Palmer, an analyst at Benchmark, pointed out that companies holding a lot of crypto but having low market values are prime targets for mergers. These deals often happen through exchanging company stock. This kind of activity helps bring together the crypto treasury world and makes digital asset holdings less scattered.
Blockchain.com’s Footprint in Digital Treasuries
Smith also highlighted that Blockchain.com is very active in the digital asset treasury (DAT) field. The company has poured over $200 million into about twelve different firms. These include ProCap Financial, which focuses on Bitcoin, BitMine Immersion for Ethereum, and Ton Strategy for Toncoin.
Smith explained that using "shells" to collect digital assets isn’t new. Other industries, like biotechnology, have used similar methods. However, he credits Michael Saylor’s strategy with MicroStrategy as the direct inspiration for this approach in the crypto space. Saylor showed that accumulating Bitcoin could significantly boost value for shareholders.
The idea of holding digital assets in company treasuries started with Bitcoin and Ethereum. Now, it has grown to include many other cryptocurrencies. You can find DATs dedicated to collecting XRP, Dogecoin, BNB, and Solana, among others. Market data shows that treasuries holding Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana together manage over $120 billion in digital assets. On top of that, these treasuries have pulled in more than $20 billion in venture capital this year alone. This clearly shows a strong and growing interest from investors.
Two Ways to Build a Digital Asset Treasury
Smith noted two main types of DATs. One acts purely as an investment vehicle. In this setup, investors buy shares hoping the management team will create more value through new funding and discounted tokens. This can often be a better deal than buying the crypto assets directly. However, Smith cautioned that putting money into a DAT could be riskier than simply buying and holding cryptocurrencies yourself.
The second type he called "ecosystem DATs." These aim to replace traditional foundations, which are common in places like Switzerland or the Cayman Islands. They use C-type corporations that could eventually list on stock exchanges. Smith believes these structures came about because of weak regulations. He thinks they could become a much clearer and more transparent model for holding digital assets.
Blockchain.com, founded in 2011, has seen the entire rise of cryptocurrencies from the very beginning. The company raised a hefty amount of capital in 2022, reaching a $14 billion valuation. Today, it also offers key services like custody, trading, and staking for various digital treasuries. Smith is very confident that this trend isn’t going anywhere. "This is a sector and a vertical that will be here permanently," he concluded. The combination of big company investments, new rules, and business mergers is likely to shape the next chapter for the crypto asset market.