Asia Morning Briefing: Hex Trust CEO Highlights Pros and Cons of Corporate Bitcoin Treasuries

At BTC Asia in Hong Kong, Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) firms—public companies that add bitcoin to their balance sheets—were a central theme. But Alessio Quaglini, CEO and Co-Founder of Hex Trust, warned that corporate bitcoin strategies are not all built on the same foundation.

Quaglini praised the visibility that public treasury holdings bring to bitcoin adoption. “Listed companies holding BTC give indirect access to billions of investors via local stock markets and Nasdaq,” he told CoinDesk.

Still, he stressed the difference between diversification and speculation. “If a company exists only to hold crypto, then it’s a publicly traded hedge fund. That’s financial engineering, not strategy,” he said.

Leverage, Quaglini warned, remains the biggest threat. Galaxy data shows loan volumes at their highest since 2022, with $1 billion in liquidations adding strain. Korean regulators have already frozen new lending products amid concerns that excessive leverage could destabilize markets.

“Debt-driven bitcoin purchases can create a prisoner’s dilemma in public markets, where forced selling spirals into greater volatility,” Quaglini said.

Looking ahead, he argued that the real milestone for DATs will come if major corporations with large cash reserves—such as Apple or Google—allocate into bitcoin. “That shift would be transformative,” he noted.

Market Overview

• Bitcoin (BTC): Trading above $109K after August ETF flows rotated toward ETH, keeping BTC capped below mid-August highs.
• Ethereum (ETH): At $4,298, consolidating after record levels last month; ETF demand has favored ETH.
• Gold: Holding near $3,470, close to a four-month high, on rate-cut bets and dollar weakness.
• Nikkei 225: Up 0.31% as Asia-Pacific equities responded to tariff rulings and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit.

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