Bitcoin was supposed to have entered a new era. Wall Street's embrace of cryptocurrency through the launch of "digital asset treasuries" - designed to incorporate crypto into corporate balance sheets - had given the market hope for stability and growth. Now, this institutional support is showing cracks, exposing vulnerabilities similar to those seen in earlier market cycles.

According to CryptoQuant data, Bitcoin purchases by publicly listed "digital asset treasuries" plummeted from 64,000 coins in July to 12,600 in August, with only 15,500 purchased so far in September. Compared to the early summer buying frenzy, September's purchase volume has crashed 76%. Over the past week, Bitcoin and Ethereum have declined in tandem by nearly 6%, with the selloff accompanied by sudden forced liquidations. Some treasury companies that raised funds through PIPE (Private Investment in Public Equity) transactions have seen their stock prices fall as much as 97% from their issue prices.

Overall, digital asset treasuries have raised over $44 billion this year. These treasuries were marketed as "stable buyers" expected to transform Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from speculative tokens into financial infrastructure. The core logic was simple: corporate treasuries, pension funds, and publicly listed companies would hold Bitcoin as balance sheet assets, creating a "demand floor" for Bitcoin.

However, this "floor" is now showing signs of instability. Regulators have reportedly begun investigating unusual trading behavior in digital asset treasury stocks.

Markus Thielen, head of 10x Research, stated: "Furthermore, our understanding of the acquisition prices of the cryptocurrencies held by these treasuries and the actual number of shares is extremely limited - many PIPE transactions include warrants, and the volatility and equity dilution effects of such instruments have very low transparency."

Some treasury companies that once traded at high premiums have seen their valuation multiples shrink dramatically, with current market capitalizations approaching the value of their Bitcoin holdings. This premium is called the "market-cap-to-NAV multiple" (mNAV), which measures how much a company's stock price trades at a premium or discount relative to its Bitcoin reserve value.

With reduced funds available for "counter-cyclical buying," these treasury companies' purchase retreat has weakened the market influence of key buyers. This has created a frustrating vicious cycle: institutional support was both a signal of demand and a pillar of demand; now as institutional influence wanes, both effects are dissolving.

The cryptocurrency market is showing a "two-speed" divergence. On one hand, derivatives markets are showing stress: demand for long-term futures contracts has plummeted, with Bitcoin long positions facing $275 million in forced liquidations over the past 24 hours, highlighting market risk-aversion sentiment. On the other hand, retail-oriented cryptocurrency products continue to see steady capital inflows.

According to data compiled by Bloomberg, the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF attracted $2.5 billion in September, a significant increase from August's $707 million. Even as corporate buyers gradually exit, ETF investors continue to seek Bitcoin exposure.

Jeff Dorman, Chief Investment Officer at Arca, stated: "The crypto market weakness is more likely due to the fatigue of Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs) - not because treasuries are creating selling pressure, but because they have removed an important buyer from the market."

Morten Christensen witnessed the peak of Bitcoin mania in August. He didn't see the typical signals of traditional cycle tops - no parabolic surge, no sudden massive forced liquidations - but the market atmosphere had become "thin." When Bitcoin's price broke through $123,000, this veteran trader, wary of crypto's characteristic "50% monthly volatility," advised friends and family to sell their positions.

Christensen, who operates AirdropAlert.com, said: "In my view, the emergence of all these treasury companies is itself a strong top signal."