Stock exchanges in India, Hong Kong, and Australia have reportedly begun blocking or restricting companies from becoming digital asset treasury vehicles.
Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. has rejected at least five companies seeking to become DATs, citing rules against “cash companies” that hold primarily liquid assets, according to a Bloomberg report on Wednesday, citing anonymous sources.
The Bombay Stock Exchange rejected a listing application last month from a company after it announced plans to invest proceeds in crypto.
Meanwhile, Australia’s ASX bars companies from holding more than half of their balance sheets in cash-like assets such as crypto, making DAT models “essentially impossible.”
ASX-listed firms that pivot to investing in crypto “are encouraged to consider structuring their offering as an exchange-traded fund,” said a spokesperson.
Japan is the outlier
Japanese stock exchanges remain open to the concept. Japan allows DATs with proper disclosure and hosts the most in Asia — 14 listed Bitcoin (BTC) buyers, including the world’s fourth-largest Bitcoin DAT, Metaplanet.
However, MSCI, one of the world’s largest index providers, is proposing to exclude large DATs with more than 50% crypto holdings from its indexes, which could cut off passive investment flows.
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Cointelegraph reached out to all three stock exchanges but did not receive an immediate response.
Companies accused of selling their listed status
Some bourses have expressed concern about these companies selling their “listed status” rather than running legitimate operating businesses, Bloomberg reported.
There is also the “cash company” issue with firms holding mostly liquid assets, potentially looking like empty shell companies that could be used for improper purposes.
Regulators also want listed companies to have real operations, not just be investment vehicles holding assets, it stated.
Crypto treasury model on thin ice
DATs arguably drove crypto markets this year, but many are now suffering, trading at or below their net asset values (NAVs) as markets have corrected heavily.
Researchers at 10x Research said that the “age of financial magic is ending for Bitcoin treasury companies,” citing slumping share prices, especially at Metaplanet.
Even BitMine chair Tom Lee hinted earlier this month that the DAT bubble may have burst.
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