In the rapidly evolving investment world, ETF (Exchange-Traded Open-End Index Fund) and DAT (Digital Asset Treasury) have gradually become two highly regarded tools.

They are not simply in competition, although their abbreviations are similar. They represent different philosophies and value orientations: the former is a mature vehicle that integrates traditional finance with crypto assets, while the latter is an innovative practice of enterprises embracing the digital economy; one focuses on liquidity as a core competitive advantage, while the other creatively opens new value pathways.

ETF: An outstanding provider of liquidity

ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund) is a type of fund that is traded on traditional stock exchanges, tracking the price performance of specific assets (such as Bitcoin or Ethereum). Investors can buy and sell through a regular securities account without directly holding or managing the cryptocurrency itself.

The core advantage of ETFs lies in their excellent liquidity. Taking the first batch of spot Bitcoin ETFs approved in the US in January 2024 as an example, by the second quarter of 2025, the total management scale of 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs exceeded 85 billion dollars, with an average daily trading volume stabilizing at over 4 billion dollars. These products can be freely bought and sold during trading hours at the exchange, combined with the continuous quoting mechanism provided by market makers, even in extreme situations where Bitcoin prices fluctuate more than 10% in a single day, the bid-ask spread can still be maintained within 0.1%, ensuring investors can quickly enter and exit the market.

This convenience significantly lowers the investment threshold. Data from the US Financial Regulatory Agency shows that after the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs, 72% of new cryptocurrency investors are traditional stock investors who are encountering digital assets for the first time, with 30% participating in trading through retirement accounts. The continuous inflow of these funds further strengthens market depth.

DAT: A perfect interpretation of creativity

DAT (Digital Asset Treasury) is an innovative treasury management strategy adopted by listed companies, where companies allocate their own funds or financing into digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum, forming part of the treasury assets, essentially a corporate-level digital asset management strategy.

The creativity of DAT is reflected in its reconstruction of corporate balance sheet logic. Taking MicroStrategy as an example, this business intelligence company began implementing the DAT strategy in 2020, and by June 2025, it had accumulated approximately 1 million Bitcoins, accounting for 78% of its total assets. Through the capital flywheel of 'buying coins — price increase drives net asset appreciation — stock price rises in sync — equity financing at a higher valuation — further increasing Bitcoin holdings', its market value grew from 1.5 billion dollars in 2020 to 32 billion dollars in 2025, during which it completed 6 targeted placements, raising a total of 4.7 billion dollars.

Creativity is also reflected in the diversification of revenue models. Listed companies holding Ethereum can earn about 4% annualized returns through staking. By 2025, among the global listed companies adopting the DAT strategy, 63% have staked part of their Ethereum, generating over 800 million dollars in annual ecological revenue. Some companies also participate in liquidity mining in DeFi protocols like Uniswap, obtaining an additional 15-20% annualized return, forming a dual drive of 'digital asset appreciation + cash flow income'.

The logical roots behind differentiation

ETFs originated in the traditional financial sector, designed to lower the technical barriers and security risks of direct investment in cryptocurrencies. The strict regulatory requirements of the US SEC for ETFs (such as daily position disclosure and custody bank qualification review) give them standardized and highly transparent characteristics. This regulated operation significantly reduces trading costs — the comprehensive fee rate (including management fees and trading commissions) for holding a spot Bitcoin ETF is about 0.5-0.8%, only 1/3 of that for directly holding cryptocurrencies (including wallet fees, transfer costs, etc.).

The creativity of DAT stems from the native characteristics of the crypto world. Through smart contracts, companies can achieve automated management of digital assets: the US-listed company MSTR automatically executes risk controls like 'triggering government bond collateral financing when falling below a specific price' through on-chain contracts. This real-time responsiveness is something traditional treasury management cannot achieve. More importantly, DAT has created a new valuation logic — the stock price of listed companies is linked to the market value of the digital assets they hold. By 2025, the correlation coefficient between companies adopting the DAT strategy and Bitcoin prices reached 0.83, providing investors with indirect leveraged exposure to crypto assets.

A collaborative rather than adversarial ecological pattern

These two tools are forming a complementarity: institutional investors gain liquidity exposure to crypto assets through ETFs (for example, pension funds allocate 2% positions through ETFs), while companies convert digital assets into growth momentum through DAT. As of mid-2025, 230 listed companies globally have adopted the DAT strategy, with a total value of digital assets held reaching 120 billion dollars. The liquidity demand corresponding to these assets is precisely released through the ETF market — among the share reduction actions of DAT companies, 41% are completed through over-the-counter ETF exchanges, avoiding shocks to the spot market.

Understanding their unique value can help us make more informed decisions in an increasingly complex investment environment: when flexible position adjustments are needed, ETFs provide an efficient channel; when seeking long-term value creation, the capital creation capabilities demonstrated by DAT are worth noting. These two tools together constitute a new type of investment infrastructure in the digital economy era.

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