HashKey Capital’s CEO, Deng Chao, highlights that sustainable crypto treasuries rely on treating digital assets as strategic reserves rather than speculative investments.
In a recent interview, Chao stated that the resilience of corporate crypto treasuries hinges on sound governance and firm discipline. He noted that digital asset treasuries (DATs) can be sustainable over the long term, but their success depends on strong risk management and proper diversification.
Assets managed without a clear risk framework or treated like speculative bets often fail when markets become volatile. Chao emphasizes, “Resilience comes from discipline. Digital assets themselves aren’t inherently unsustainable; it is their management that determines their long-term viability.”
This statement comes shortly after HashKey launched a $500 million DAT fund in Hong Kong, focusing on Bitcoin and Ethereum-based corporate treasuries. The fund aims to actively deploy capital in on-chain infrastructure, custody, and ecosystem services.
Designed for institutions and corporations, this fund not only holds digital assets but also seeks to benefit from growth in underlying blockchain infrastructure, combining operational use with strategic investment.
Distinguishing DATs from ETFs
Chao differentiates DATs from ETFs, seeing them as complementary rather than competing instruments. While ETFs offer straightforward market exposure to retail investors, DATs integrate crypto into a company’s long-term financial strategy.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs collectively hold around $152 billion, which constitutes approximately 6.63% of Bitcoin’s market capitalization. In contrast, public companies hold over a million Bitcoins, equating to roughly $128 billion in corporate treasuries, highlighting the scale and importance of DATs.
Challenges and Solutions for Crypto Treasuries
According to Chao, many treasuries face difficulties due to rigid fund structures and extreme market volatility. HashKey’s DAT fund is built to address these challenges by offering regular subscriptions and redemptions while minimizing risk through diversification between Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The fund targets key sectors like custody, payments, staking, and regulated stablecoins, situated in Bitcoin and Ethereum ecosystems that Chao describes as the core pillars of liquidity and innovation.
Although the DAT fund launched in Hong Kong, HashKey plans a global reach with a strategic focus spanning the U.S., Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, and the UK, emphasizing a broad and inclusive investment thesis from the outset.
Overcoming Skepticism
Chao recognizes that widespread institutional skepticism persists, often rooted in perceptions of crypto as speculative or difficult to secure, and incompatible with typical accounting standards.
He observes that these misconceptions act as barriers to broader adoption and stresses the importance of education and infrastructure development to facilitate integration.
Looking ahead, HashKey is optimistic about innovations including tokenization of real-world assets, expanding institutional over-the-counter markets, and developing infrastructure for on-chain financial products.
Chao concludes that the convergence of tokenized products and scalable OTC markets indicates a transition from fragmented activity towards a fully integrated digital finance ecosystem.
