ETH and SOL version of "MicroStrategy" trend rises: A new type of speculative script driven by dual engines of cryptocurrency and stocks?

Author: Fairy, ChainCatcher

Editor: TB, ChainCatcher

The market always creates "stories" in unexpected ways.

From MicroStrategy to ETH version, SOL version, XRP version "MicroStrategy," micro-cap listed companies that were once overlooked in the U.S. stock market have become carriers and amplifiers of new stories.

The alternative integration trend between crypto assets and traditional stock markets is quietly spreading. Is this a further evolution of crypto financialization, or a narrative bubble built on high leverage?

MicroStrategy Avatar Guide: Who are the Coin-Holding Doubling Stocks?

The crypto treasury strategy has become a prominent trend in the capital market. According to Bitcointreasuries data, there are currently 211 entities worldwide holding over 3.37 million bitcoins, with publicly traded companies holding about 800,000 bitcoins, and this number continues to grow. Recently, Trump Media & Technology Group, under Trump, also entered the market, raising approximately $2.5 billion through private placement to establish a bitcoin treasury.

To further explore, we have compiled a list of "MicroStrategy" avatar companies:

Many companies in the image had mediocre operations before venturing into crypto assets, even facing financial difficulties. For example, Upexi saw its financial revenue decline and net losses expand in the second half of 2024. However, since announcing its reserve strategy, its stock price has cumulatively risen over 300%. Similar cases are not uncommon, with some companies achieving several times, or even dozens of times, increases in the capital market through this strategy.

At the same time, multi-coin versions of "MicroStrategy" are continuously emerging. Clean energy solutions provider Worksport has invested its cash reserves in BTC and XRP; e-commerce company GD Culture Group has secured a $300 million financing commitment, planning to purchase bitcoin and TRUMP as long-term reserve assets. These trends indicate that more and more traditional companies are attempting to achieve strategic transformation and market repricing through crypto assets.

Generalization of Strategies : Borrowing Coins to Trade Stocks, Borrowing Stocks to Hold Coins

The "MicroStrategy" path essentially has a very low threshold: continuously issuing stocks and bonds to complete financing, then allocating the funds to crypto assets, and using financial reports as valuation anchors to feed back into stock price performance. The difference lies in who has stronger fundraising capabilities, which coins to allocate, and whether to choose staking for returns, among other details.

Two days ago, SharpLink Gaming announced a $425 million private placement and included ETH in its treasury, becoming a typical case of this model: raising funds at a price below net asset value, purchasing and staking ETH; when the stock price exceeds the net value of ETH per share, refinancing occurs, and this cycle continues.

It is worth noting that almost all of the investors in this round are established institutions like ConsenSys, ParaFi, and Pantera, which heavily invested in Ethereum in its early days. SharpLink previously had a market value of only about $10 million and could transfer 90% of control to the "Ethereum camp" by issuing 69.1 million new shares at a low price.

To some extent, this type of operation is similar to the previous wave of crypto spot ETF applications: companies and token projects collaborate to create expectations and valuation bubbles through capital market means. "Buy coins --- show off --- trade stocks," has also become a new path for token projects to leverage the U.S. stock market. Crypto KOL AB Kuai.Dong revealed that in addition to the officially announced ETH and SOL MicroStrategy plans, there are rumors of 6-7 other projects currently seeking shells and in negotiation stages, which have not yet been disclosed. Moreover, VCs and market makers are also quietly transforming, turning to find U.S. stock shells for acquisition, fundraising, and buying coins.

Mainstreaming or Capital Illusion?

Stock price curves inject on-chain volatility; the flywheel is turning but the direction is unclear. Can these operations sustain long-term, truly create structural value, or are they merely a capital illusion under exquisite packaging?

Crypto KOL @lowstrife has given his warning: these so-called "crypto reserves" are actually a destructive leverage structure, the essence of which is to provide cash flow for token accumulation by continuously diluting the equity of common shareholders. This path operates particularly smoothly for MicroStrategy, provided its stock price is above the value of its held bitcoins (mNAV > 1). Once it falls below this balance point, the entire flywheel could stall or even reverse.

However, is it really feasible to replicate this model? Bloomberg columnist Matt Levine pointed out that MicroStrategy has first-mover advantages, strong investor relations, effective market narratives, and systemic channels supported by inclusion in ETFs and indices. Ironically, this logic is now being copied by a batch of "small MicroStrategy companies," yet the market seems to hold premium expectations for each newcomer. Matt wrote: "The current situation is like the crypto circle is continuously playing the U.S. stock market, and the U.S. stock market keeps falling for it."

From the community perspective, the sustainability of this structure is also in doubt. Community member @0xdafu believes that the continued operation of this structure relies on the relative stability of the underlying assets. Bitcoin can carry "infinite imagination," but stock market valuations cannot infinitely overdraw "market dream rates." Community user @connect1998 even likens this cycle to a Evergrande-style capital game: asset collateral leads to financing, financing further amplifies asset allocation, ultimately accumulating into massive debts and bubbles. Once the market stops buying in, the consequences could be not only a halving of valuations but also a systemic pullback.

Stories can be replicated, but value cannot be faked.

When the logic of capital wraps around the ideals of crypto, when the banner of mainstreaming is transformed into a leverage-driven financial model, is this evolution, or another form of "selling out"?