Josip Rupena, CEO of lending platform Milo and former Goldman Sachs analyst, told Cointelegraph that Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto treasury firms exhibit risks akin to collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), the securitized bundles of home mortgages and other debts that triggered the 2007-2008 financial crisis.
According to Rupena, crypto treasury companies take bearer assets devoid of counterparty risk and introduce multiple risk layers, such as the competence of corporate management, cybersecurity threats, and the company’s capacity to generate cash flow. He elaborated:
“There’s this aspect where people take what is a pretty sound product, a mortgage back in the day or Bitcoin and other digital assets today, for example, and they start to engineer them, taking them down a direction where the investor is unsure about the exposure they’re getting.”
He mentioned that while he doesn’t anticipate crypto treasury companies to trigger the next bear market, overleveraged firms could “exacerbate” a market downturn via forced selling, though it remains too early to determine the exact consequences.
Several market analysts have cautioned about the potential for overextended crypto treasury companies to create market-wide contagion through forced selling, resulting in a decrease in crypto prices as they rush to cover debts.
Related: Peter Thiel vs. Michael Saylor: Crypto treasury bet or bubble?
Companies diversify into altcoin holdings, leaving market investors divided
Traditional financial firms are moving beyond the Bitcoin treasury strategy popularized by BTC advocate Michael Saylor and are diversifying into altcoin treasuries.
In July and August, multiple firms unveiled Toncoin (TON), XRP (XRP), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Solana (SOL) corporate treasury strategies, for instance.
Companies pursuing crypto treasury strategies have experienced varying effects on their stock prices as the markets react to the increasing wave of companies transitioning to digital assets.
In August, Safety Shot, a producer of health and wellness beverages, announced it would use the BONK (BONK) memecoin as its primary reserve asset, causing its stock to dive by 50% on the news.
Similarly, many Bitcoin treasury firms have seen their share prices decline in the latter half of 2025, with the sector becoming ever more saturated.
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