Trading term

What is mNAV (bitcoin treasury companies)?

mNAV is a company's market value divided by the value of the bitcoin it holds. Above 1, the shares cost more than the bitcoin behind them. Below 1, less.

Some companies hold bitcoin as their main asset, Strategy (ticker MSTR) being the biggest. Their shares trade on a stock exchange, so the price can drift far from the bitcoin they own. mNAV measures that gap. Strategy's own version adds its debt and preferred stock to the market value, which makes the number higher than a simple share-price-over-bitcoin ratio.

For example

On 26 October 2026 Strategy's dashboard put its mNAV at 1.13. In January 2025 MSTR traded at more than twice the bitcoin behind each share.

Go hands-on in Premium

That's mNAV (bitcoin treasury companies) in theory — it clicks when you read it on a live chart. Practise it hands-on in the TradeWize Premium Futures & Derivatives track.

Explore Premium →

Why it matters to you

A high mNAV lets the company sell new shares and buy more bitcoin per share than it gives away. When the premium shrinks, that stops working, and the share price can fall faster than bitcoin does.

⚠ A premium can disappear without bitcoin moving

If you pay 2x for bitcoin through a company's shares and the market later pays only 1x, you lose about half your money even if bitcoin ends where it started.

Frequently asked questions

Does a bitcoin ETF have an mNAV?

Not in the same way. An ETF's shares are created and redeemed against its bitcoin, so the price stays within a fraction of a percent of what it holds. That gap is called the premium or discount.

Why would anyone pay more than 1x?

Buyers expect the company to keep raising money and buying bitcoin, so each share is backed by more bitcoin later. That only holds while the premium lasts.

Read the full guide

Funds & ETFsMSTR vs IBIT: Is Strategy Stock a Better Way to Own Bitcoin?$10,000 in MSTR became $26,077, in IBIT $16,981. But MSTR only won for early buyers. We checked every buy day since January 2024.9 min read

Related terms

BackwardationBackwardation is when futures prices are lower for later delivery dates — the futures curve slopes downward. It often signals tight near-term supply or strong demand for immediate delivery. For futures holders it creates a positive 'roll yield,' as they sell pricier near-term contracts and buy cheaper later ones.BasisBasis is the difference between an asset's futures price and its current spot (cash) price. It reflects carrying costs, supply and demand, and time to expiry — and it converges to zero as the contract nears expiration, since a future about to settle must match the spot price. Traders watch basis to gauge conditions and to hedge.Bitcoin halvingThe bitcoin halving is the cut, every 210,000 blocks (about every four years), that halves the number of new bitcoins created as the reward for adding a block.Borrow feeThe borrow fee is what a short seller pays to rent the shares they've borrowed, quoted as an annual rate on the value of the position and charged for every day the short is held. An easy-to-borrow stock might cost a fraction of a percent a year; a hard-to-borrow one can cost many times that.
← Back to the full glossary