Why Crypto Treasury Companies Are Exploding

Bitcoin Treasury Companies Are Taking Off. Could They Eventually Crash?

From Strategy to Trump Media, everyone’s joining the crypto treasury bandwagon. But why now, and what risks do these structures pose? Cosmo Jiang of Pantera explains.

Public crypto treasury companies are in the news right now.

Just this week, Sharplink Gaming announced a $425 million raise to create an Ethereum treasury vehicle, backed by Consensys. Meanwhile, Trump Media said it will buy $2.5 billion worth of bitcoin. And in a headline grab, GameStop revealed a $500 million Bitcoin purchase. There’s even a newly launched XRP treasury company backed by Saudi royal capital.

But why are these vehicles suddenly the structure of choice for accessing crypto exposure? What kinds of assets are best suited for them? And are they safe or a ticking time bomb?

Pantera Capital’s Cosmo Jiang joins Unchained to unpack:

• The structures and strategies behind these companies

• Why Solana is appearing more than Ethereum (and what that says)

• How XRP’s brand power could matter more than its adoption

• The risks these vehicles pose to investors and to markets

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pods, Fountain, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Now, let’s get into this week’s news! In today’s edition:

• 🗳️ Sui votes to hack the hacker in $220M Cetus exploit recovery plan

• 📈 Circle targets $600M IPO with BlackRock reportedly eyeing a 10% stake

• ⚖️ Judge tosses Mango Markets fraud case over improper venue claims

• 🔫 Crypto investor charged in NYC kidnapping tied to stolen bitcoin access

• 🔍 Arkham allegedly doxxes Strategy’s wallets after Saylor slams proof-of-reserves

• ⏳ Sam Bankman-Fried could get out early with release projected for 2044

• 🌐 U.S. and Pakistan unveil bitcoin reserves as part of national strategies

• 🚀 Cobie’s Sonar platform debuts with $50M token sale from Plasma

• 😅 Trader loses $87M in days after high-leverage meme coin collapse

Sui Network Weighs Bold Move to Reclaim Stolen Funds

Following a $220 million exploit on the Cetus decentralized exchange, the Sui network is voting on a proposal to forcibly retrieve $160 million still held in the attacker’s wallets. If approved, validators will execute a network upgrade that overrides wallet control and transfers the funds to a multisig wallet managed by Cetus, the Sui Foundation, and security firm OtterSec.

The May 22 attack exploited flaws in Cetus’ smart contract math, allowing the attacker to use fake tokens to withdraw real assets. Although $60 million was already laundered, the majority remains frozen.

Support for the vote currently stands at 80 percent, with early passage possible by May 29. The proposal includes compensation to affected users using recovered funds, Cetus’ treasury, and a loan from the Sui Foundation.

This unprecedented action has sparked debate over decentralization, with critics warning of future implications. “Taking a heavily opinionated stance to censor… is a slippery slope,” said David Rodriguez of Blockworks Advisory.

Circle Kicks Off IPO Bid and Draws BlackRock Interest

Circle is pushing ahead with its long-anticipated initial public offering, aiming to raise approximately $600 million through the sale of 24 million Class A shares. According to its latest SEC filing, the offering includes 9.6 million shares from Circle itself and 14.4 million from existing shareholders. If successful, the IPO could value the company at over $5.4 billion. “Becoming a publicly traded corporation on the New York Stock Exchange is a continuation of our desire to operate with the greatest transparency and accountability possible,” said Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire.

Investment giants are taking notice. BlackRock is reportedly preparing to acquire up to 10% of the offered shares. The firm already manages a $53.5 billion government money market fund that backs 90% of Circle’s USDC reserves.

Meanwhile, Circle has frozen $57 million in USDC linked to Argentina’s controversial LIBRA token. The freeze follows a court order tied to a lawsuit over alleged investor fraud involving Solana-based wallets.

Judge Overturns Fraud Convictions in Mango Markets Case

A U.S. federal judge has vacated key fraud convictions against Avraham Eisenberg, the trader accused of exploiting Mango Markets for $110 million. The ruling, issued by Judge Arun Subramanian, found that New York prosecutors lacked proper venue to bring the case and that the evidence did not meet the legal threshold for fraud.

“There is no allegation that the Mango Markets platform had ties to New York,” Judge Subramanian wrote, noting Eisenberg carried out the exploit from Puerto Rico. Attempts by prosecutors to link the case to New York through a user and vendor were ruled insufficient.

Eisenberg was acquitted of wire fraud, with the court stating that the decentralized platform’s lack of clear rules undermined the charge. “Mango Markets was permissionless and automatic,” Subramanian said.

While the Justice Department may pursue the vacated charges in another jurisdiction, Eisenberg remains in custody, serving a four-year sentence in an unrelated case involving child sexual abuse material.

Crypto Investor Charged in Brutal Manhattan Kidnapping

A cryptocurrency investor in New York has been charged with kidnapping and torturing an Italian man in a bid to access to his bitcoin wallet. John Woeltz, 37, was arraigned in Manhattan on Saturday and is being held without bail on multiple felony counts, including kidnapping for ransom. According to authorities, the victim, Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan, was lured to a SoHo townhouse on May 6, where he was allegedly ambushed by Woeltz and accomplices.

Carturan, a former fund partner of Woeltz, was reportedly beaten, electroshocked, threatened at gunpoint, and even dangled from the top floor of the five-story home. He told police that he was forced to smoke crack cocaine and had his leg cut with a saw.

Carturan escaped on May 24 and alerted police. A third suspect, William Duplessie, surrendered days later. Authorities say the suspects aimed to extract cryptocurrency keys potentially worth millions. The investigation remains ongoing.

Saylor Rejects Onchain Transparency as Arkham Allegedly Reveals Strategy’s Bitcoin Holdings

Michael Saylor, executive chairman of Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), ruled out publishing onchain proof-of-reserves, citing security risks. Speaking at a sideline event during Bitcoin 2025, Saylor called the practice a “bad idea,” warning that disclosing wallet addresses could expose the company to hackers, nation-state actors, and other threats. “You publish your wallet, that’s an attack vector,” he said. Saylor argued that institutional-grade audits, not public wallet disclosures, are the appropriate standard for financial transparency.

Just two days later, blockchain analytics firm Arkham claimed it had identified Strategy’s primary Bitcoin address, reportedly holding 454,231 BTC worth $48.8 billion. Arkham further asserted it uncovered an additional 70,816 BTC, bringing the total to $54.5 billion, roughly 87.5% of Strategy’s known holdings. The platform tagged addresses linked to custodians including Fidelity and Coinbase Prime. “SAYLOR SAID HE WOULD NEVER REVEAL HIS ADDRESSES ... SO WE DID,” Arkham wrote.

The public disclosure sparked backlash online, with critics accusing Arkham of disregarding privacy and undermining the exact concerns Saylor had raised.

Bankman-Fried Could See Early Release

Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of collapsed crypto exchange FTX, could be released from prison more than four years earlier than his original sentence, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Initially sentenced to 25 years in March 2024 for orchestrating an $11 billion fraud, Bankman-Fried is now projected to be released in December 2044.

The revised date reflects possible sentence reductions through accumulated Good Conduct Time, credit for time served before sentencing, and participation in prison programs. The Bureau of Prisons allows qualifying inmates to earn up to 54 days off per year for good behavior, though such reductions remain contingent on continued compliance.

Bankman-Fried was convicted in 2023 on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy for funneling customer funds from FTX into his hedge fund, Alameda Research. He is currently held at a low-security prison in San Pedro, California. His former associate Caroline Ellison is also set for early release in 2026 after receiving similar reductions.

U.S. and Pakistan Advance Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Initiatives

Governments in both the United States and Pakistan are formalizing plans to hold bitcoin in official reserves. At the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas, Pakistan’s special assistant to the prime minister on blockchain, Bilal Bin Saqib, announced the creation of a government-led strategic bitcoin reserve. He stated that the reserve is intended for long-term holding and would “never, ever be sold.” Pakistan has also allocated 2,000 megawatts of electricity for Bitcoin mining and AI data centers to support related infrastructure.

In the U.S., White House crypto advisor David Sacks outlined how the federal government could expand its existing Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, which currently consists of around 200,000 BTC obtained through forfeitures. The reserve was established by executive order in March. Sacks noted that acquiring additional bitcoin would depend on budget-neutral strategies developed by the Treasury or Commerce Department.

Speaking at the same event, Vice President J.D. Vance urged Congress to pass pro-crypto legislation and reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to firing regulators seen as hostile to digital assets.

Cobie Launches Sonar to Reinvent ICOs

Jordan Fish, known in the crypto world as Cobie, has unveiled a new public token sale platform called Sonar, designed to modernize the initial coin offering model. Developed under his investment platform Echo, Sonar allows blockchain projects to self-host token sales using configurable tools for compliance and distribution.

Unlike traditional launchpads, Sonar does not aggregate or promote token offerings. Instead, it enables projects to customize their sale terms and host directly on supported blockchains, including Solana, Cardano, and Hyperliquid. “At Echo, we don’t really like launchpads. We think the incentives are a mess,” the team wrote on X.

Sonar’s first live offering is from Plasma, a blockchain built for stablecoins. Co-founder Paul Faecks said Plasma will offer 10 percent of its XPL token supply, aiming to raise $50 million at a $500 million valuation. The sale involves stablecoin deposits and lock-up periods, with distribution set to follow Plasma’s mainnet beta launch later this year.

Fun Bits: Trader Turns $87M Win Into $13 in Record Time

James Wynn might want a name change. The crypto trader racked up a staggering $87 million in profits on Hyperliquid in just 70 days, riding high on meme coins and 40x leverage. But then came the plot twist… he lost it all in five.

According to Lookonchain, Wynn’s fortune vanished between May 23 and May 28, leaving him with a wallet balance better suited for a vending machine. His latest claim to fame? A $529 million bitcoin position that’s underwater by $2.1 million, and just $13 left in realized gains.

Wynn bet big on coins like PEPE, TRUMP, and FARTCOIN. The market clapped back. Hard. Turns out, the only thing hyper about Hyperliquid was the speed of his downfall? Ouch!

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