DATs No Longer Just Token Promoters, Evolving Into Distribution Platforms, Speakers Say at EastPoint: Seoul 2026

Digital asset treasury, or DAT, companies that stockpile cryptocurrencies are taking on a new role, according to speakers at a conference in Seoul. The sector is moving beyond simply holding tokens and toward generating real revenue from those reserves.

Christopher Jensen, chief executive officer of StablecoinX, said during a panel discussion at the Web3 private conference EastPoint: Seoul 2026 on September 28 at the Westin Seoul Parnas in Seoul's Gangnam district that DAT companies are changing. "DAT companies are no longer simply businesses that promote or speak for a specific cryptocurrency," he said. StablecoinX is a DAT company that holds about 20% of the total token supply of Ethena, a stablecoin issuer.

The panel discussion was held under the theme "DAT: A New Frontier in Corporate Treasury Strategy." Participants included Jensen, Hyperion DeFi CEO Jung Hyun-su and Ether.Gas founder Kevin Lepsoe.

Jensen said DAT companies can become "distribution platforms" for crypto ecosystems. "The ecosystems underlying the crypto assets held by DAT companies have real products," he said. DAT companies can deliver those products through distribution channels that are difficult for protocols to access directly.

Many DAT companies are evolving from simple token-holding entities into distribution platforms, he added, calling that shift a significant change for the industry.

Jung said DAT companies should play a more active role in the growth of the ecosystems tied to the assets they hold. "What DAT companies need to do goes beyond continuing to accumulate crypto," he said. They need to keep contributing to the growth of those ecosystems and put the assets reflected on their balance sheets to practical use.

He also cited Hyperion DeFi, which stockpiles Hyperliquid's HYPE token, as an example. When new markets or products are created on Hyperliquid, Hyperion DeFi can provide capital and infrastructure and share in the revenue generated in that process, Jung said. The company also helps participants enter the Hyperliquid ecosystem by building credit and trading infrastructure.

Speakers also said a broader mix of revenue models could change how DAT companies are valued. Jensen said the first metric that can be applied across all DAT companies is modified net asset value, or mNAV, relative to market capitalization. Over time, however, the sector is more likely to be valued as the sum of its individual business lines.

"DAT companies hold reserve assets, but they also have operating businesses that put those assets to work," he said. "Like any other company, they should be valued using operating metrics such as revenue, customers and annual recurring revenue, or ARR, alongside their treasury holdings."

Park Si-on, reporter / Lee Jun-hyung, Bloomingbit reporter