November 25, 2025
Despite November’s tough price action and record outflows from major Bitcoin ETFs, Crypto ETFs and Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs) have progressed more quickly than early-year forecasts suggested. Crypto ETFs represent institutionalisation through regulated financial wrappers, while DATs reflect public companies adopting digital assets as balance-sheet holdings or integrating them into their operating models. Together, they are reshaping the market structure for digital assets, capital formation and protocol-level yield.
This article explores the key trends driving ETFs and DATs, the cooling of the DAT boom, the emergence of Solana ETFs, and what all of this means for the future of liquid staking and on-chain yield.
The ETF engine is now a structural force
ETF inflows have become one of the most important demand signals in the digital-asset market. In early October 2025, global crypto ETF AUM peaked near 264 billion dollars before declining to roughly 167 billion dollars by late-November, with the United States accounting for the lion’s share of flows.
New product launches across the United States, Europe and Asia have expanded the market significantly, with Solana ETFs joining Bitcoin and Ethereum products as the next major category of institutional crypto exposure.
The launch of Solana ETFs in Q4 2025 was a major milestone. Bitwise’s BSOL has surpassed 500 million dollars in AUM in its first 18 days of trading, per Bitwise's announcement, underscoring the scale of early institutional demand for Solana exposure. Farside flow data shows that cumulative inflows across all Solana ETFs continue to build steadily, highlighting sustained interest in proof-of-stake assets beyond Ethereum.
Most crypto ETFs still hold their underlying assets off-chain in qualified custody, meaning they do not participate in staking. The emergence of staking-enabled products represents a notable shift. Bitwise’s Solana Staking ETF, which stakes its underlying SOL through independent validator Helius, demonstrates that regulated, yield-bearing ETF structures are now viable. As more issuers explore compliant staking models, staking-enabled ETFs may become standard across proof-of-stake networks, with direct implications for on-chain supply, participation and yield dynamics.
The DAT boom is cooling, but the structural trend remains
In parallel, more than 200 publicly traded companies have adopted Digital Asset Treasury strategies. Inspired by early movers like MicroStrategy, many raised capital specifically to accumulate tokens. Between April and November 2025, more than 15 billion dollars was raised through private placements to buy digital assets. As of late 2025, DATs collectively hold approximately 4 percent of all Bitcoin, more than 3 percent of all ETH and roughly 0.8 percent of circulating SOL.
The DAT boom pushed many companies to trade far above the intrinsic value of their token holdings. By Q4, that premium collapsed. At least 15 Bitcoin-focused treasuries now trade below the value of their underlying assets. A Bloomberg analysis estimates that more than 17 billion dollars of equity value evaporated as those premiums compressed. Companies that pivoted into speculative altcoins saw even sharper reversals.
Despite this cooling trend, the structural impact remains significant. DATs have become a persistent source of token demand, and their balance sheet strategies influence liquidity conditions, funding markets and risk sentiment. The era of financial engineering premiums has ended, but the era of corporate token accumulation is not.
How DATs may evolve from passive treasuries to operational yield companies
As valuations normalise, DATs can no longer rely solely on passive token appreciation. The most durable firms are likely to evolve into operating companies that participate more actively in the ecosystems they support. Yield oriented strategies such as staking and restaking may become part of corporate treasury policy, while accretive approaches including lending, derivatives, discounted token acquisition and selective M&A can help increase crypto per share over time.
Scale will play an important role in this next phase. Larger DATs have structural advantages in accessing debt markets, sourcing liquidity and pursuing acquisitions. As a result, the market is likely to shift from broad price driven participation to clearer differentiation, where only a subset of well executed DATs maintain or achieve premium valuations.
Regulatory clarity is reshaping ETF staking and trust structures
A major catalyst in November 2025 was the US Treasury and IRS issuing Revenue Procedure 2025-31. As published in our IRS Safe Harbor insights article, the guidance created a tax safe harbor that allows single-asset crypto trusts and ETFs to stake proof-of-stake assets without jeopardising their pass-through tax status if specific conditions are met.
Funds must hold a single asset, use a qualified custodian, and rely on an independent staking provider. They must follow liquidity protocols to meet redemptions and avoid any business activities beyond holding, staking and redeeming the asset.
This unlocks a new generation of regulated staking-enabled products where investors can access native protocol yield through traditional financial channels. It also introduces a new competitive dimension for asset managers. Products will differentiate not only on tracking efficiency but also on staking yield, validator strategy, slashing protection and liquidity management.
Global regulatory convergence is accelerating
The United States remains the dominant market for ETF flows, but other regions are scaling in parallel.
United States: Continued regulatory clarity is driving institutional comfort. Ethereum and Solana ETFs are gaining traction. The IRS staking safe harbor is a breakthrough for yield integration.
European Union: MiCA provides a comprehensive framework enabling transparent ETF and tokenised fund structures. France and Germany are emerging as leaders for regulated staking products.
Hong Kong: Strong regulatory momentum and a clear licensing regime have positioned Hong Kong as the leading ETF hub in Asia. Solana ETF consultations are underway.
UAE: Dubai’s VARA is enabling tokenised public debt, comprehensive asset management regimes and approval of spot crypto ETFs. The region is now attracting a disproportionate share of institutional fund launches.
Each of these hubs is building its own version of regulated proof-of-stake yield markets. The competitive landscape will shape where capital flows and where staking liquidity concentrates.
Implications for liquid staking and on-chain yield
The intersection of ETFs, new regulatory frameworks and the growing role of DATs has several direct implications for liquid staking and institutional staking markets.
On-chain supply will tighten as ETFs scale
ETF custody removes assets from circulating supply. If more issuers adopt staking in compliant ways, a material portion of proof of stake supply may become encumbered in long term, off-chain institutional custody. This will influence staking ratios, yield curves and the liquidity available for collateralised on-chain strategies.
ETF outflows introduce new systemic considerations
Recent data shows that United States spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded more than 3 billion dollars in net outflows in November. These reversals highlight that institutional wrappers can experience abrupt liquidity swings during risk off periods. For on-chain yield systems, this reinforces the importance of robust exit mechanics, validator redundancy and liquidity buffers that can absorb shifts in demand without destabilising staking markets.
Institutional staking will professionalise
Staking within regulated products requires rigorous slashing protection, validator diversification, attestation processes and real time monitoring. This raises operational standards across the industry and strengthens the moat for professional staking providers with institutional grade infrastructure.
DATs will influence staking demand and on-chain liquidity
As corporate treasuries move beyond passive holdings, some DATs may allocate assets to staking and restaking to enhance yield and increase crypto per share. This introduces a long duration class of balance sheet stakers whose behaviour differs from retail or ETF driven flows. Broad DAT participation could raise baseline staking demand, reduce circulating supply and influence yield curves across proof of stake networks. In periods of deleveraging, DATs unwinding positions could amplify liquidity stress. Their footprint therefore becomes an important variable in institutional staking dynamics.
Liquid staking tokens remain essential
Even as staking enabled ETFs expand, liquid staking tokens offer composability, on-chain liquidity and capital efficiency that native staking and ETF wrappers cannot. ETFs provide strong off-chain liquidity, but they cannot be used as collateral or integrated into on-chain markets. Institutions may therefore pursue blended strategies that combine ETF exposure with liquid staking instruments to capture both regulated access and on-chain utility.
Yield portfolios will become multi layer
Institutions are beginning to combine staking, delegated staking, liquid staking tokens, restaking markets and structured yield instruments into diversified on-chain income portfolios. As ETF staking matures, these multi layer approaches are likely to become standard components of institutional digital asset allocation frameworks.
The bottom line
Crypto ETFs and digital asset treasuries are no longer experiments. They are structural forces shaping capital flows, asset distribution and yield dynamics across major proof-of-stake networks. With new US tax clarity and global regulatory momentum, staking is now entering the realm of fully regulated investment products.
However, the recent record outflows from major Bitcoin ETFs illustrate that these flows are not one-directional. They introduce new dynamics of reversal and re-release of supply that on-chain yield architectures must anticipate.
This convergence marks a new phase for institutional digital assets, one where the design of yield, liquidity and custody models matters as much as the underlying token itself. The institutions that understand these dynamics early will define the next generation of on-chain yield markets.