Written by: Zen, PANews
In recent years, an increasing number of publicly listed companies have incorporated crypto assets into their balance sheets, from MicroStrategy's pioneering bet on Bitcoin to Trump Media raising $2.5 billion to build a Bitcoin treasury, to various traditional industrial and tech giants experimenting with stablecoins or Ethereum strategic reserves on a small scale. According to BitcoinTreasuries, as of July 17, 154 publicly listed companies have adopted Bitcoin strategic reserves; additionally, a research report released by DWF Labs at the end of June this year indicated that publicly listed companies have cumulatively invested up to $76 billion in crypto assets.
In addition to the crypto-friendly policies of the Trump administration and the demonstrative effect of MicroStrategy, the momentum behind this wave is also supported by crypto venture capital and Web3 funds focused on institutional-grade digital asset layouts — they provide comprehensive solutions for publicly listed companies through leading PIPEs (Private Investment in Public Equity), convertible bonds, reverse mergers, and other methods, enabling cryptocurrency purchases, tokenized equity, stablecoin settlements, and on-chain treasury management.
The main institutions driving the cryptoization of publicly listed companies have expanded from early Pantera Capital, Animoca Brands, and Sora Ventures to include DWF Labs, Big Brain Holdings, GSR, Bain Capital Crypto, among others, with an increasing number of crypto VCs joining this trend recently.
Pantera Capital
Pantera has invested in several DAT (Digital Asset Treasury) companies, the most notable being Twenty One Capital, a financial services company led by long-time Bitcoin evangelist Jack Mallers (NASDAQ stock code: CEP). Pantera is also the institution that invested the most in its PIPE financing round. Twenty One is attempting to emulate MSTR's strategy and has received support from three industry giants: Tether, SoftBank, and Cantor Fitzgerald. Pantera pointed out that Twenty One's scale is just right to utilize all capital market tools while its market cap is relatively small, allowing it to flexibly achieve growth in BPS faster than MSTR and trade at a higher premium.
Additionally, Pantera also led the investment in DeFi Development Corp (NASDAQ stock code: DFDV, formerly Janover), which has sparked the DAT trend in the U.S. DFDV is led by CEO Joseph Onorati and CIO Parker White, drawing from MSTR's strategy but applying it to Solana. Pantera believes that Solana is an interesting alternative to BTC for several reasons: due to its shorter maturation period, its upside potential may be larger than BTC; its volatility is higher than BTC, meaning that this volatility can be leveraged for higher returns; its staking yield component can promote growth in SOL per share; and due to the limited current alternatives available, Solana has more untapped demand.
In addition to supporting publicly listed companies holding Bitcoin and Sol treasuries, Pantera has also invested in the U.S.'s first Ethereum digital asset financial company, Sharplink Gaming (SBET). SBET is led by the software company Consensys, co-founded by Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin, which launched an ETH treasury strategy, and Pantera has collaborated with its team for over ten years.
Galaxy Digital
In May 2025, Trump Media announced that it would raise approximately $2.5 billion for Bitcoin treasury construction through the issuance of $1.5 billion in common stock and $1 billion in convertible bonds. Galaxy Digital not only served as the financial advisor for this debt and equity financing but was also one of the lead underwriters, designing the financing structure and committing to provide liquidity support.
Previously, Galaxy Digital has assisted non-crypto native companies like GameStop and AMC in conducting crypto payment and treasury experiments, and served as an advisor in several SPAC mergers, promoting the targets to incorporate digital assets into their strategic asset allocations. Between 2024 and 2025, Galaxy participated in over $800 million in crypto-related financing for publicly listed companies, covering equity investments, debt financing, and advisory services across multiple levels.
Animoca Brands
In July 2025, Animoca announced that it had signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the food and packaging company DayDayCook (DDC). According to a joint statement released by both parties, Animoca will invest up to $100 million in Bitcoin into DDC's Bitcoin treasury revenue strategy. Animoca's co-founder Yat Siu will also join DDC's 'Bitcoin Visionary Council' to provide strategic guidance for treasury management and revenue optimization. DDC Enterprise announced its Bitcoin funding reserve plan in May of this year, aiming to purchase 5,000 Bitcoins over three years, and purchased 21 Bitcoins for its corporate funding reserve that month.
Moreover, as a well-known investor in the Web3 industry that emerged during the NFT boom, Animoca itself is also seeking opportunities for a U.S. public listing. According to the Financial Times, Yat Siu stated that Animoca is planning to go public in New York, aiming to seize the 'unique opportunity' presented by the Trump administration's regulatory approach to digital assets. With the decline of NFT and GameFi projects, in addition to investments, Animoca Brands' latest financial report also shows that it is transforming into consulting services, covering token consulting, token economics, marketing, listing consulting, node operation, and trading services.
Sora Ventures
In December 2024, Sora Ventures announced the launch of a $150 million fund aimed at replicating the MicroStrategy-style Bitcoin treasury management model for publicly listed companies in Asia. The fund will focus on publicly listed companies in markets such as Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan, and South Korea. The first beneficiary is Metaplanet, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which saw its stock price soar over 1000% in 2024, becoming the best-performing stock on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
In May of this year, Sora Ventures entered the public market and changed its name to AsiaStrateg through a strategic merger with Top Win International, a Hong Kong luxury distributor listed on NASDAQ. This merger allowed TopWin to gain Sora's Bitcoin expertise, which will participate in TopWin's investment and treasury management. TopWin has announced plans to adopt a Bitcoin reserve strategy and intends to use $150 million to support Bitcoin treasury projects for at least ten publicly listed companies in the Asian market.
Recently, a Bitcoin investor alliance, including Sora Ventures, AsiaStrategy, Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich, and the South Korean investment institution KCGI, raised approximately $25 million by directing the issuance of about 58,862,249 new shares to SGA, a software service provider listed on the Korean KOSDAQ. SGA plans to use the new capital to support its daily operations and develop new business plans in the digital asset space.
DWF Labs
In June 2025, fitness equipment and digital fitness service company Interactive Strength (Nasdaq: TRNR) announced the signing of a financing framework for a 'FET Token Treasury' totaling up to $500 million, with the first $55 million co-invested by ATW Partners and DWF Labs. The funds will be used to purchase FET tokens from Fetch.ai through the BitGo platform, as on-chain allocated assets in its balance sheet. TRNR stated that if the plan is fully implemented, it expects to have the largest publicly listed crypto asset library focused on AI tokens. According to a research article officially released by DWF Labs, it will continue to explore building similar trading opportunities in the U.S. stock market.
Primitive Ventures
According to Primitive Ventures, since early 2025, the institution has begun to focus on 'digital asset reserve PIPE' as a key research direction, systematically screening and participating in various representative trades to empower publicly listed companies with Ethereum-based crypto assets as their core reserve strategy. Primitive Ventures also participated in SharpLink Gaming's completion of a $425 million private equity financing announced in May this year. Primitive believes that BTC-based strategies primarily rely on financing for coin purchases, lacking self-generated asset returns and bearing higher leverage risk. In contrast, SBET has the potential to directly utilize staking returns from ETH and the DeFi ecosystem to achieve compound growth on-chain, creating real value for shareholders.
Big Brain Holdings
Big Brain Holdings, a US crypto venture capital fund, has recently become a significant supporter of consumer goods development, manufacturing, and distribution company Upexi (NASDAQ: UPXI). In July 2025, Upexi announced a $150 million convertible bond issuance, with the issuer using locked Solana (SOL) tokens as collateral, a coupon rate of 2%, and a term of 24 months. Big Brain Holdings is the leading investor in this note financing. After the financing is completed, Upexi is expected to hold approximately 1.65 million SOL, significantly increasing the size of its on-chain treasury.
GSR
Upexi's expansion into the cryptocurrency space can be traced back at least three months — in April 2025, GSR led a $100 million private placement investment (PIPE) into Upexi, with funds used to purchase and stake Solana tokens. This move helped Upexi establish a crypto treasury focused on Solana. Public reports indicate that after the announcement of the transaction, Upexi's stock price surged by about 700%, highlighting the market's enthusiastic response to corporate digital asset strategies. GSR stated that this transaction reflects the growing demand for high-quality crypto assets from traditional capital. Additionally, GSR also participated in SharpLink's $425 million private placement financing.
Other participants
Many well-known crypto VCs also participated in the $100 million private placement led by GSR for Upexi and the $425 million private placement financing for SharpLink Gaming led by Consensys.
In addition, several crypto venture capital firms also participated in the largest initial financing in the history of publicly listed Bitcoin financial reserve companies completed by ProCap Financial. ProCap Financial was formed by the merger of ProCap BTC, a private company of former Morgan Creek partner Anthony Pompliano, with NASDAQ SPAC Columbus Circle Capital. Pompliano also announced that he has completed $750 million in financing, focusing on purchasing Bitcoin and developing profitable financial products based on the holdings.
According to public information, in three major private placements:
Institutions participating in both SharpLink Gaming and Upexi private placements include: GSR, White Star Capital, Hivemind Capital
Institutions participating in both SharpLink Gaming and ProCap Financial include: ParaFi Capital, Arrington Capital
Institutions participating only in Upexi's private placement include: Big Brain Holdings, Anagram, Delphi Ventures, Maelstrom, Arthur Hayes Family Office, Borderless, Morgan Creek, Elune Capital, Delta Blockchain Fund
Institutions participating only in ProCap Financial's private placement include: Magnetar Capital, Woodline Partners LP, Anson Funds, RK Capital, Off the Chain Capital, Blockchain.com, BSQ Capital Partners, FalconX
Institutions participating only in SharpLink Gaming's private placement include: Electric Capital, Pantera Capital, Galaxy Digital, Hypersphere, Primitive Ventures, Republic Digital
