According to the publication, the SEC and FINRA have already sent information requests to several companies. The probe now spans more than 200 issuers that disclosed cryptocurrency holdings in their reserves.
Regulators were alarmed by suspicious trading activity: in multiple cases, share prices and volumes jumped sharply right before official announcements about digital asset acquisitions.
The SEC reminded companies of potential violations of Regulation Fair Disclosure (Reg FD), which prohibits giving privileged information to select investors, as it creates unfair market advantages.
Concerns over the DAT model had been raised before, with experts pointing to the risks of crypto treasuries. In July, on-chain analyst James Check warned that followers of Strategy’s approach could face collapse. CryptoQuant analysts also cautioned that firms holding significant crypto reserves may suffer steep valuation losses.
Surge in Corporate Crypto Treasuries
At present, 194 public companies have joined the Bitcoin treasury movement, collectively holding more than 1 million BTC worth over $113,360M — equivalent to 4.7% of the total supply. The biggest holder remains Strategy with 639,835 BTC ($70B). Marathon Digital (52,477 BTC / $5.7B) and Twenty One Capital (43,514 BTC / $4.7B) complete the top three.
Public companies also hold large amounts of Ethereum, with combined reserves totaling 5.26M ETH valued at $20.59B.
Market Under Pressure
Over the last 24 hours, the global crypto market capitalization slid 1.0% to $3.85T, as all top-10 coins recorded losses of up to 4%. Bitcoin briefly touched $108,787 before stabilizing near $109,000 at press time.
Ethereum also weakened, breaking below $4,000 for the first time since early August, and posting a daily low of $3,833.
Data from CoinGlass shows that liquidation volumes topped $858.35M in the past day, with the majority of losses hitting long positions in BTC and ETH. Meanwhile, the Fear & Greed Index dropped from 44 to 28 points, edging closer to the “extreme fear” range.
