By 2026, digital asset companies will face a "harsh consolidation," with only a few major players holding Bitcoin and Ethereum on their balance sheets, according to analysts at Pantera Capital.
— Pantera Capital (@PanteraCapital) January 21, 2026
"The rest will either be absorbed or pushed back, except for perhaps one or two lucky players with alternative tokens," they noted.
Experts say the trend is already evident: asset accumulation is concentrating among a limited number of corporations. This is particularly reflected in the treasury sector of the second-largest cryptocurrency.
Ethereum Advocates
BitMine is solidifying its status as the largest holder of the second-largest cryptocurrency. Just last week, the company invested $104 million to acquire 35,268 ETH. Since the beginning of the year, the firm's portfolio has grown by 92,511 ETH ($277 million).
As of this writing, the company manages over 4.2 million ETH ($12.9 billion), representing 3.48% of the total supply of the asset.
BitMine has also engaged in staking, locking up a total of 1,943,200 ETH ($5.71 billion).
Tom Lee (@fundstrat)'s #Bitmine staked another 171,264 $ETH ($503.2M) 6 hours ago.
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) January 23, 2026
In total, #Bitmine has now staked 1,943,200 $ETH ($5.71B).https://t.co/P684j5YQaG pic.twitter.com/xrFAF4KKau
The second-largest Ethereum treasury, SharpLink, acquired 4,987 ETH ($14 million). Other digital asset treasuries have not reported new cryptocurrency purchases for a long time, and a similar trend is observed in the Bitcoin accumulation sector.
Bitcoin Treasuries
In this sector, the largest player remains Strategy Michael Saylor, which owns 709,715 BTC ($63.5 billion) and continues to bolster its reserves.
The company holds a significant portion of the assets managed by public corporate structures (1 million BTC worth $96.7 billion).
In comparison, the second-largest treasury holds 52,850 BTC ($4.7 billion)—over 11 times less than Strategy.
This widening gap raises questions about the sustainability of smaller treasuries, especially those that raised capital through debt or stock issuance during bullish market phases. Some have already faced consequences; in late December, ETHZilla sold 24,291 ETH worth $74.5 million to settle debt obligations.
Previously, French company Sequans Communications had to sell 970 BTC ($94.5 million) to meet convertible debt payments.
In November, Bitwise's Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan pointed out the inefficiency of crypto treasuries.