Ethereum treasury companies are under pressure to generate revenue from staking and other profit strategies as spot cryptocurrency funds (ETFs) dilute the attractiveness of public companies that simply hold Ether (ETH), according to a novel report from Everstake.
Staking accounted for an average of 60% of reported revenues among the six ETH treasury firms that separately disclosed staking-related revenues, the staking infrastructure provider he said.
Everstake reviewed 15 publicly traded companies with ETH treasury strategies and found that companies in its sample that reported losses in 2025 collectively recorded approximately $1.41 billion in net losses. Separately, BitMine Immersion Technologies reported a net loss of $9.02 billion for the six months ended Feb. 28, though the report said that amount was largely driven by unrealized losses on digital assets rather than operating losses.
The 60% staking revenue figure was calculated based on data from six companies that separately disclosed staking revenue: BitMine Immersion Technologies, SharpLink, Bit Digital, Forum Markets, BTCS and FG Nexus. Companies that did not issue stakeholder awards or had annual results pending were excluded from the calculations.
The report presents this change as part of a broader valuation of digital asset treasury (DAT) companies, which previously offered public market investors one of the few regulated ways to gain exposure to cryptocurrencies. Everstake argued that spot ETFs have diluted the premium for DAT passive exposure, forcing treasury firms to justify valuations through staking, DeFi lending, MEV capture and other yield strategies.
ETH treasury company data compiled by Everstake. source: Everstake
“DATs that rely on passive exposure are structurally overvalued,” Everstake co-founder Bohdan Opryshko said in the report. He added that the implementation is “no longer limited to standard protocol staking” and now includes liquid staking, DeFi lending and validator-level strategies.
Opryshko told Cointelegraph that the study does not prove that staking revenue alone can support any ETH treasury model or offset all risk. ETH price volatility, dilution, net asset value discounts, financing costs and operating expenses may continue to outpace investment returns, particularly for companies with frail capital structures or ineffective financial management, he said.
He said the report’s content is narrower: “The accumulation of passive ETH is becoming increasingly difficult to justify as a standalone public market strategy, especially after spot cryptocurrency ETFs have provided investors with cleaner access to passive exposure.”
He added that in this environment, staking and other forms of energetic asset deployment may become “necessary, although not sufficient” for ETH treasury companies to sustain their models.
ETFs matter, but they may not be the only point of pressure
Ignacio Aguirre, chief marketing officer at cryptocurrency exchange Bitget, said spot ETFs have made it challenging for ETH treasuries to justify premiums based solely on ETH exposure. However, he cautioned against attributing the change in valuation solely to ETFs.
“I wouldn’t attribute it too much solely to ETF discovery,” Aguirre told Cointelegraph. He said ETH treasuries are still equities, which means investors also consider ETH price performance, balance sheet quality, dilution risk, treasury strategy, execution and broader market sentiment.
Related: Bitmine’s Tom Lee points to a forceful stock market after considering the company for the Russell 3000
Aguirre said staking could improve the ETH treasury model by creating a recurring revenue stream, although its impact depends on whether the rate of return is vast enough to offset operating costs, dilution and volatility.
He added that staking ETFs could become a pressure point for treasury companies in the future, but described them as “more complementary than existential threats.”
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