The pivot to AI has failed to rescue digital-asset treasury companies, with K Wave Media down 71% since rebranding. Miners like Hut 8 and Coreweave, by contrast, have real infrastructure to repurpose for high-performance computing.
A wave of digital-asset treasury companies has rebranded toward artificial intelligence after crypto losses crushed their share prices. The early returns suggest the pivot is failing to revive investor confidence.
At least a dozen such firms have shifted into AI-related ventures in recent months as token prices and their own valuations declined, according to a Bloomberg report published Monday. The results are grim.
K Wave Media, once focused on accumulating bitcoin, has fallen 71% since turning toward data center development in May. Lixte Biotechnology has lost 33% since agreeing to merge with a battery company in June. Alphaton Capital, previously a holder of alternative cryptocurrencies, is down 33% since rebranding as Alpha Compute in April.
The model that fueled these companies was straightforward: raise capital, issue stock, buy cryptocurrencies, and hope shares trade at a premium to the net asset value of the holdings. It worked while token prices climbed. It began unraveling once many companies fell below the value of their crypto reserves.
U.S. and Canadian treasury stocks tracked by Bloomberg have posted a median decline of 43% this year. Bitcoin has dropped 49% from its October peak. Ether has fallen 62% from its August 2025 record. Companies are now exploring data centers, space businesses and small nuclear reactors.
Even Strategy, which popularized the model under Michael Saylor, has suffered. Its shares have fallen 81% from their 2024 record, and the company has reduced its bitcoin holdings.
The rush toward AI mirrors earlier corporate attempts to attach themselves to popular themes, from dot-com names in the 1990s to blockchain pivots in the following decades. The infrastructure gap between treasury firms and miners is wide.
Bitcoin miners may have a more credible path. Their power contracts, land and data centers can often be adapted for high-performance computing. Coreweave began as a miner before becoming a cloud-computing provider. It now has a market value of about $40 billion, with its shares up 80% since its March 2025 initial public offering.
Hut 8, Iren and Terawulf have also attracted investors after redirecting capacity toward AI workloads. Hut 8 carries an Alpha Score of 62, labeled Moderate, in the financial services sector. For treasury companies without comparable infrastructure, a new name may not be enough.
"I think DATs, as we've seen them, are probably done," said Daniel Forman, a partner at Lowenstein Sandler.
Ten public companies now hold more than 1 million bitcoin between them, and the gap between the winners and losers continues to widen.
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