Corporate Ether treasuries have taken a heavy hit from the recent market correction, leaving several firms with sizable unrealized losses and squeezing balance sheets.
BitMine Immersion Technologies, the largest corporate holder of ETH, is carrying roughly $6.95 billion in unrealized losses after having accumulated Ether at an average price near $3,883 per token—well above the current spot near $2,240. SharpLink Gaming, the second-largest corporate ETH treasury, shows about $1.09 billion in paper losses after ETH fell below its average cost basis of roughly $3,609.
Those mark-to-market losses have pushed Market Net Asset Value (mNAV) ratios—which compare enterprise value to the value of crypto holdings—down sharply. BitMine’s mNAV fell to 1, while SharpLink’s dropped to about 0.92. An mNAV below 1 makes equity raises and share-based capital raises more difficult, potentially limiting these firms’ ability to add to crypto positions. Asset manager Pantera Capital warned the downturn could lead to a “brutal pruning” of crypto-treasury companies in 2026, leaving only the best-capitalized players standing.
The pullback aligns with earlier analysis from Tom Lee, BitMine’s chairman and Fundstrat co‑founder, who projected Ether could fall to about $1,800 in Q1 2026 before recovering and rallying later in the year.
The correction has already prompted some treasuries to unwind positions. Hong Kong-based Trend Research sold 33,589 ETH—roughly $79 million at the time—to close leveraged trades at a loss. The firm reportedly borrowed about $77.5 million in USDT from Binance to repay loans and reduced its ETH liquidation threshold from $1,880 to $1,830. Trend Research still holds a long position of approximately 618,000 ETH (valued near $1.43 billion at reporting) but shows an unrealized loss exceeding $534 million. Founder Jack Yi said the firm will manage risk and wait for a market recovery, noting they were premature in returning to bullish exposure after earlier sales.
Despite treasury sell-offs, on-chain data indicate “smart money” accumulation during the dip. Over the past week, smart-money addresses bought about $38.3 million in spot ETH; whales added roughly $5.47 million, and new wallets bought about $31 million, according to Nansen.
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