Brussels, March 12, 2026: Billions of dollars in crypto treasury capital sits idle today, putting protocols at risk of severe drawdowns and collapsing balance sheets during bearish conditions. That’s one headline finding in the latest report released by Keyrock, a neo investment group built for digital assets.
The full report, A New Playbook for Realising Crypto’s $5.6 Billion Treasury Opportunity, examines how crypto projects and DAOs manage their treasuries, from asset composition and diversification to risk management, financial instruments, and performance metrics. The research also proposes sophisticated strategies treasury managers can apply to transform idle capital into consistent income.
The report arrives at a relevant and challenging time for protocols. As the market attempts to climb out of a months-long downturn, many projects are recognising the fragility of treasuries that prioritise massive native token holdings over diverse asset allocation.
Across the 25 protocols Keyrock analysed, aggregate treasury holdings exceed $5.6 billion. Approximately 80% of aggregate treasury value remains concentrated in native governance tokens, while median stablecoin allocation sits at just 3.6%. Significantly, the median protocol allocates only 7% of its treasury to income-bearing positions. Not only does this structure strangle protocols of usable liquidity, but the opportunity cost of idle capital is massive.
Among the analysed protocols, the combined treasuries currently generate approximately $6.6 million in annual income. Increasing their yield-bearing allocations to 30% of assets, with a conservative 5% yield, would generate $84.7 million in annual income, or a 13x increase in recurring funding capacity.
“Many of today’s protocols are underutilising their treasuries, leaving them vulnerable to massive valuation swings at the whim of the market,” commented Ben Harvey, Digital Asset Researcher at Keyrock and author of the report. “As we continue to inform clients of, an entire institutional treasury toolkit has emerged onchain to give protocols multiple options for income generation. That includes those wanting to retain a large portion of governance tokens.”
The report spotlights onchain lending markets, yield vaults, and options markets as some of the tools treasury managers can turn to for income generation, without selling native tokens.
The research continues to outline how active treasury management is becoming a competitive advantage as traditional corporate treasury strategies arrive onchain and capitalise on the myriad benefits brought by blockchain technology.
Without it, protocols face the unnecessary risk of pro-cyclical treasury behaviour that masks vulnerabilities during bull markets and threatens a damaging drawdown during bear markets.
The full report from Keyrock is available to download now at https://keyrock.com/realising-cryptos-treasury-opportunity/.
About Keyrock
Founded in Brussels in 2017, Keyrock is a neo investment group built for digital assets. The company is a leader in market making, asset management, OTC, and options trading. Providing liquidity to over 90 centralized and decentralized venues worldwide, their 220-strong team operates across 37 countries, with entities in Belgium, the UK, Switzerland, France, and the U.S.
Keyrock provides the widest range of services in the market, allowing the group to deliver fully tailored support. Today, this unmatched offering includes in-depth industry insights, co-created DeFi ecosystems, and active support for Web3 startups. Structured for the long-term, Keyrock is constantly evolving to drive progress in digital assets.
Media Contact
Marina Sanchez, PR and Events Manager at Keyrock