DeFi Technologies Q1 Earnings Call Highlights
DeFi Technologies (NASDAQ:DEFT) reported a profitable first quarter of 2026 despite what executives described as a difficult period for digital assets, with weaker cryptocurrency prices pressuring assets under management, staking income and investor activity.
Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman Johan Wattenström said the company generated revenue of CAD 11.2 million and net income of CAD 4.9 million in the quarter. He said the results showed the “strength and durability” of DeFi Technologies’ business model during what management viewed as a particularly challenging stretch of the recent crypto market downturn.
Average assets under management during the quarter were approximately CAD 533 million, while AUM reached a low of about CAD 427 million during the period. Wattenström said those levels were lower than in prior periods but broadly consistent with market conditions. He added that AUM had since recovered to about CAD 530 million, and that April 2026 net inflows of CAD 14.6 million represented the company’s second-strongest monthly inflow in the past 12 months.
Lower Altcoin Prices Weighed on Fee and Staking Yields
Chief Financial Officer Paul Bozoki said DeFi Technologies’ effective management fee yield was approximately 1% in the quarter, down from about 1.2% in prior periods. He attributed the decline primarily to a larger relative weighting in Bitcoin-related products, which carry lower or no management fees, following sharp declines in altcoin prices.
Within Valour, the company’s digital asset exchange-traded product platform, Bozoki said the effective staking yield fell to 2.5%. He cited lower altcoin prices, compression in Bitcoin and Ethereum lending rates, market volatility and changes related to previously locked Solana coins that were unlocked and distributed to Valour after the end of the quarter.
Even with lower monetization of about 3.5% of AUM, Bozoki said Q1 revenue of CAD 11.2 million exceeded CAD 9.7 million in operating general expenses, fees and commissions, which he described as the company’s primary cash costs. He said management remains focused on keeping core operating costs at levels that support cash-positive operations.
Balance Sheet Remains a Focus
DeFi Technologies ended the quarter with CAD 87.6 million in cash and $13.1 million of USDT and USDC, for a total of CAD 100.7 million of cash and stablecoins on hand as of March 31, 2026, according to Bozoki. Wattenström said the company also had approximately $23.5 million in treasury holdings and a venture and private portfolio valued at $29.1 million, bringing total cash, treasury and venture portfolio value to approximately $156 million.
Wattenström said positive working capital improved to CAD 47.3 million from year-end 2025. He described the company’s balance sheet as giving DeFi Technologies the flexibility to invest in growth initiatives, strategic infrastructure and potential acquisitions.
Asked during the call how much cash the company needs to operate, Wattenström said the company’s own market-making activities typically require roughly CAD 25 million to CAD 35 million, though he added that DeFi Technologies also expects to use some capital to seed new funds and may preserve flexibility for acquisition opportunities.
Valour, Stillman and Institutional Products
Wattenström said Valour remains central to the group, with a platform that includes about 100 listed products across global exchanges. Bozoki said the company ended the quarter with 102 ETPs and structured products, including leveraged bull and bear ETPs introduced in late 2025, and continued to expand distribution through cross-listings in markets such as London and Brazil.
ETP flows were relatively resilient in the quarter, with a small CAD 0.7 million outflow, Bozoki said. He noted that Bitcoin reached a low of $60,000 per token during the period.
Stillman Digital, the company’s OTC and prime brokerage business, generated approximately CAD 2.9 million in revenue during the quarter, up 38% from CAD 2.1 million in Q1 2025. Bozoki said Stillman is tracking toward meeting or exceeding its planned 15% to 20% year-over-year growth.
President Andrew Forson said DeFi Technologies continued building distribution relationships and infrastructure across Europe, Latin America and Asia. He said UCITS structures, hedge funds and other regulated institutional vehicles remain strategic priorities. Forson also said the company has repositioned its Global Insight Symposia as the DeFi Technologies Capital Market Series, with an institutional investor event planned at the Canadian Embassy in London in collaboration with the Canada-UK Chamber of Commerce in June.
Wattenström said institutional product initiatives are intended to meet demand from investors in Europe, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and other global markets. He said the company is working on UCITS funds, hedge funds, actively managed certificates and asset-backed ETPs, including volatility-targeted products.
Management Holds Off on Full-Year Consolidated Guidance
During the question-and-answer session, Curtis Schlaufman, vice president of marketing and communications, said the company has issued guidance for Stillman, expecting 15% to 20% growth. Bozoki said Stillman did about CAD 10 million in revenue in 2025, implying roughly CAD 11 million to CAD 12 million under that growth range, and said Q1 performance was tracking near CAD 12 million for the year.
For Valour, Bozoki said the company is not providing formal consolidated guidance yet, citing the need for more visibility into UCITS and fund structures. He said management views a 4.5% monetization rate as conservative for the year, compared with 5.2% in 2025 and 3.5% in Q1 2026.
Bozoki said the company believes it remains positioned to achieve profitability during fiscal 2026 based on its current cost structure and monetization profile. He also emphasized the operating leverage in the business, saying additional AUM would largely flow to the bottom line because costs are relatively fixed.
Nasdaq Listing, Buybacks and Custody Plans Addressed
In response to investor questions about share buybacks and the Nasdaq listing, Wattenström said any buyback would depend on cash flow and would not be tied to the listing. He said there is “no risk” of DeFi Technologies being delisted from Nasdaq in the near term, noting the company has time to regain compliance with the $1 minimum bid requirement and could pursue a reverse split if necessary.
Schlaufman added that the company would qualify for another 180-day extension if needed, giving it about a year to regain compliance.
Wattenström also said DeFi Technologies is developing an internal digital asset custody technology stack that it aims to use for its own internal custody needs by the end of the third quarter, with a public release possible later. He said the custody offering is intended to reduce reliance on middlemen and serve as a foundation for other capital markets infrastructure products.
Executives also discussed stablecoin-related investments in Stablecorp and Continental Stablecoin. Forson said those venture portfolio holdings could become increasingly valuable as the company’s fund structures come online and said both are in the process of working with or onboarding to Stillman.
Management closed the call by reiterating that it is focused on cost discipline, institutional distribution, product expansion and building infrastructure to support digital asset investing as market conditions improve.
About DeFi Technologies (NASDAQ:DEFT)
DeFi Technologies Inc is a Vancouver-based company focused on decentralized finance (DeFi) and digital asset investments. Through strategic equity stakes and token allocations, the company aims to provide investors with exposure to leading DeFi protocols, applications, and infrastructure projects. Its core activities include sourcing, evaluating and acquiring positions in blockchain-based platforms that facilitate decentralized lending, trading, yield farming and liquidity provision.
In addition to its investment portfolio, DeFi Technologies works to develop and distribute tokenized products that bridge traditional capital markets with emerging DeFi ecosystems.
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