TL;DR
- B. Riley says 2026 brings a shift from crypto speculation to infrastructure as regulation, tokenization, and bank adoption converge.
- Treasury firms are expected to pivot from token accumulation to revenue-generating operations; 25 tracked DATCOs still trade near 0.8x mNAV, unchanged since mid-December.
- MSCI paused excluding DATCOs from indexes, easing forced-selling risk; BitMine expands ETH staking ahead of early-2026 infrastructure, with a $47 target and shares at $29.83.
Digital assets are poised to cross a key threshold in 2026, shifting from largely speculative instruments into practical financial infrastructure as regulation matures and traditional institutions deploy blockchain technology at scale, B. Riley said in a Thursday report. Analysts Fedor Shabalin and Nick Giles said they expect the market to move from speculation to utility as frameworks mature and blockchain integrates into global financial infrastructure. In their view, regulatory clarity is turning crypto into plumbing, not just a trade, and that reframes how investors should evaluate firms across the sector heading into early 2026.
Tokenization, Index Rules, and the DATCO Pivot
B. Riley linked the change to several converging forces: clearer rules around stablecoins, growing institutional tokenization of real-world assets, stronger governance frameworks, and improving interoperability between bank ledgers and public blockchains. The emphasis is not only on better trading rails, but on new uses that blend banks and public networks. As this happens, digital asset treasury companies are expected to pivot from simply accumulating tokens toward operational deployment that can generate recurring revenue. In short, treasury strategies are evolving into operating strategies, as firms look for cash-flow-like activity rather than balance-sheet optics.
The bank tracks a group of 25 digital asset treasury stocks and said they continue to trade at an enterprise value of about 0.8 times the market value of their crypto holdings. That metric, known as mNAV, is unchanged since mid-December, even as the underlying business models begin to look more like operating companies than passive investment vehicles. The report also defined enterprise value as market capitalization plus debt minus any cash. As operating narratives emerge, valuation is still anchored to token holdings, a gap that could narrow if revenue lines become more visible.
A near-term catalyst came from MSCI. The index provider reversed a proposal that would have excluded these treasury companies from major global equity indexes, saying more work is needed to distinguish between investment companies and operating businesses that hold digital assets as part of core strategy. B. Riley said the pause supports the sector because index inclusion helps sustain passive fund flows and reduces the risk of forced selling. Strategy, the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, had faced selling pressure tied to fears of exclusion. Here, index methodology becomes a liquidity variable that can move valuations.
The report highlighted BitMine Immersion Technologies as a case study for the operational shift. The company continues to build its ether position while expanding staking operations ahead of a planned infrastructure launch in early 2026. B. Riley reiterated a buy rating and a $47 price target, pointing to staking-driven revenue potential, while shareholders prepare to vote on a sizable increase in authorized shares to support growth and acquisitions. Shares were 1.75% lower in early trading at $29.83, yet execution on operations is the 2026 differentiator.
