After its quietest buying stretch in years, Strategy, the world’s largest listed Bitcoin treasury, snapped up 8,178 bitcoins on 17 Nov, its biggest purchase in months.
Strategy (previously MicroStrategy) has tied its balance sheet to a single metric: multiple of Net Asset Value, or mNAV. At the time of the purchase, Strategy’s mNAV was slightly below 1.0x, according to data from Bitcointreasuries.net. Today, it is hovering around parity, with the market valuing the company at roughly the same level as its Bitcoin stack.
To understand the shift, one must look at how digital asset treasuries (DATs) raise capital and why premiums matter.
What is mNAV?
Strategy, chaired by Michael Saylor, pioneered the DAT model in 2020 by turning its corporate balance sheet into a Bitcoin investment vehicle. That experiment has grown into an ecosystem of more than 200 listed Bitcoin DATs, with the model spreading to Ether, Solana and Avalanche.
The mNAV measures how the market appraises the company relative to its crypto holdings. It is calculated by dividing the firm’s enterprise value (market cap plus debt minus cash) by the market value of its digital assets.
- Parity (1.0x): Investors are paying $1 of company value for each dollar of Bitcoin.
- Premium (>1.0x): Investors pay extra for the "wrapper," reflecting convenience, speculative demand or confidence in future accumulation.
- Discount (<1.0x): The market demands a margin of safety due to governance risks, structure or illiquidity.
Why Strategy slowed its buying
As of 26 Nov 2025, Strategy holds approximately 649,870 BTC, valued at roughly $57bn. Buying pace slowed significantly in the second half of the year. From adding 7,600 BTC per week in H1, the rate dropped to roughly 1,000 BTC per week starting in August.
The slowdown aligns with the company’s explicit mNAV "guardrails" published in August:
- Above 4.0x: Aggressively issue equity to acquire Bitcoin.
- 2.5x to 4.0x: Opportunistic equity issuance.
- Below 2.5x: Issuance focused on debt servicing and dividends rather than accumulation.
- Below 1.0x: Consider issuing credit to repurchase equity (buybacks).
Back in November 2024, mNAV briefly spiked over 2.4x, allowing Strategy to acquire roughly 135,000 BTC in a single month. Since then, the multiple has compressed to around 1.0x.
The slowdown aligns with the company’s explicit mNAV "guardrails" published in August:
- Above 4.0x: Aggressively issue equity to acquire Bitcoin.
- 2.5x to 4.0x: Opportunistic equity issuance.
- Below 2.5x: Issuance focused on debt servicing and dividends rather than accumulation.
- Below 1.0x: Consider issuing credit to repurchase equity (buybacks).
Back in November 2024, mNAV briefly spiked over 2.4x, allowing Strategy to acquire roughly 135,000 BTC in a single month. Since then, the multiple has compressed to around 1.0x.
The capital raising mechanic
The key incentive for Strategy is to issue equity when it trades at a premium. When mNAV is well above 1.0x, the company sells "expensive" stock to buy "fair value" Bitcoin, accretively increasing Bitcoin-per-share for existing holders.
When mNAV sits below 1.0x, issuing new shares becomes dilutive, effectively selling claims on coins at a discount to buy more coins at full price. In this regime, it makes more sense to lean on debt or to buy back stock. Buying back shares below parity returns ownership to the company at a discount and supports the share price, nudging mNAV higher.
Strategy’s recent purchase despite mNAV sitting slightly below 1.0x likely signals a tactical attempt to "buy the dip" rather than a structural shift in strategy.
BTC Price vs Strategy Market Cap (Data from CoinMetrics and Strategy)
The sector-wide compression
Strategy isn’t alone. Across the listed DAT universe, mNAVs have drifted lower.
Aggregate mNAV of Bitcoin DATs (Data from Artemis Analytics)
This reflects a maturing asset class. Pricing now incorporates liquidity, balance sheet complexity and governance trust. It also highlights a systemic risk: leverage.
mNAV and Bitcoin holdings of the largest DATs
DATs collectively hold 5.3% of Bitcoin’s circulating supply (Strategy alone has 3.3%). Vehicles that pledge Bitcoin as collateral face the risk of margin calls if prices fall significantly, potentially forcing them to sell assets to stabilize balance sheets.
Strategy’s average cost basis is $74,430, a level traders watch closely. If the sector trades near or below parity, raising capital becomes difficult, and the corporate "wrapper" comes under scrutiny. In that scenario, corporate Bitcoin treasuries start to look less like infinite buyers and more like collateral waiting to be tested.
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