Not Dead Yet: TD Cowen Spots 'Buy' Opportunities in the 90% Club

Lance Vitanza at TD Cowen has decided that when everyone's running for the exits, maybe it's time to check if there's a fire sale happening. He's initiating coverage on three digital asset treasury companies—Nakamoto (NAKA), SharpLink Gaming (SBET), and Strive (ASST)—all of which have seen declines of 90% or more. His contrarian thesis reads like a love letter to pain: each could outperform spot crypto ETFs if prices recover and these firms keep expanding their token holdings on a per-share basis. Apparently, buying the dip works even better when someone already did your buying for you at 90% off.

For Nakamoto, Vitanza set a $1.00 price target versus Thursday's close of $0.21, suggesting nearly a fivefold gain for those who like their lottery tickets crypto-themed. That target hinges on estimated bitcoin dollar gains of $394 million for fiscal 2027, a 2x multiple, and bitcoin at roughly $140,000 by end of 2026. Nakamoto stands out among public bitcoin treasury companies because it combines direct bitcoin accumulation with minority stakes in overseas treasury firms like Metaplanet and Treasury BV—because nothing says "I'm serious about this" like owning stakes in your competitors. Vitanza also pointed to operating businesses in media, bitcoin advocacy, and digital asset management, which he said creates "distinct synergy potential." Translation: they sell ads, push bitcoin maxi propaganda, and manage other people's crypto, all while holding the actual orange coin.

SharpLink Gaming got a $16 price target versus Thursday's close of $6.42, which means even a modest recovery would have everyone feeling like DeFi royalty. Vitanza sees dollar gains of $93 million for fiscal 2026, a 2x multiple, and ether around $3,650 by December 2026. The company, led by ex-BlackRock head of digital assets Joseph Chalom and Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin, operates as an Ethereum treasury company aiming to grow ether per share through treasury operations and staking. Vitanza noted SharpLink may deliver better staking yield than spot ether ETPs because fund investors absorb fees and many products can't stake a large share of holdings. He's essentially arguing that holding ETH through this company is like having a savings account that actually pays interest—revolutionary concept, I know. He argued that even if ether stays weak, staking income should more than cover operating costs, potentially keeping ETH yield positive while waiting for capital markets to reopen. Imagine being paid to wait. In this