Welcome to the 24th edition of the Analyst of the Month.

Every month, we highlight a leading analyst who takes a long-term view of crypto.

This month we highlight Kevin Li, a Former DATS Lead at Artemis and Research Analyst ParaFi.

Kevin brings a distinctive lens to crypto investing, shaped by his journey from scaling an edtech startup to millions of users, to AI-focused venture, and now deep fundamental research into DATs, stablecoins, DeFi and prediction markets. His path blends founder intuition, macro-driven analysis, and a disciplined, value-oriented investing framework.

Read on to learn more about his move from startup founder to Artemis, ParaFi and his deep views on the evolving DAT landscape.

1. Let’s start with your background. What’s your story? How did you first get into investing and crypto?

I started my journey by founding an edtech startup, Keo Plus AI, which I scaled to millions of users. Afterward, I joined a VC firm focused on AI. My boss at the time was passionate about crypto—he was an active StepN user and deeply involved in the space. Through him, I was introduced to crypto investing and gradually started making my own investments in crypto equity. Later, I joined Penn Blockchain, where the community and friends gave me the right environment to dive even deeper into the industry.

2. What is your investment philosophy and how do you go about assessing an investment opportunity?

My philosophy is rooted in Warren Buffett’s value investing: buying a stock or token means buying into the company or protocol itself. At the same time, I’m fascinated by macro trends, so I look for value that aligns with medium-term macro tailwinds. My framework starts with identifying the market or industry a company operates in, then evaluating the business model to determine sustainability and growth potential.

3. You have researched extensively with Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs). What’s the biggest misconception people have about them, and what’s the right way to think about their role?

The biggest misconception is their risk profile. Many assume these vehicles are fragile, but in reality, most Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs) maintain very clean balance sheets. For example, even the most aggressive strategies tend to be only 15–18% levered, and the debt is typically unsecured. This makes it unlikely for DATs to face true bankruptcy risk. At their core, DATs are tokenized securities companies, aiming to capture the spread between the long-term CAGR of underlying assets and their cost of capital.

4. The DAT dashboard has taken over the crypto markets by storm over the last few months. Can you walk us through how you use it in practice, and what key metrics or views you find most useful?

The most important metric is mNAV (market NAV), which gives a sense of whether a DAT is trading cheap or expensive. But the deeper question is whether asset/share growth can outpace long-term mNAV contraction. To answer that, I focus on how DATs raise capital, either through ATMs (at-the-market offerings) or debt issuance. For ATMs, the critical metric is stock trading volume, while for debt, it’s the BTC NAV that matters most.

5. From your perspective, where do DATs not help? What are the limitations analysts should be aware of?

One limitation is that DATs don’t necessarily reveal much about the fundamentals of the underlying ecosystem. They’re great for analyzing buy-side dynamics of a token, but analysts should be careful not to treat them as indicators of broader ecosystem health. In other words, DATs show you who is buying the token, but offer little insight into innovation or actual protocol adoption.

6. How do you see DATs evolving over the next 12–18 months? What advice would you give to analysts who are starting to use the DAT dashboard?

Over the next 12–18 months, I believe every major DAT will tap into the debt side of the balance sheet, especially through preferred equity structures. Assets like ETH and SOL are particularly well-suited because staking yields can fund consistent dividends, providing stability for investors. Looking forward, I expect DATs to play a larger role in supporting ecosystem growth. For analysts, I’d recommend closely tracking the preferred equity tab on Artemis, as this represents the next stage of DAT evolution.

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7. What do you like about Artemis and how do you utilize Artemis as part of your research? 

As a data-driven investor, I love using the Artemis plugin. I’m a heavy Excel user, and integrating Artemis data directly into my workflow has been seamless. Features like artdune(), which pulls data straight from Dune, are especially powerful and allow me to combine structured and on-chain data efficiently. Having previously been part of the team, I also know firsthand that Artemis provides the most accurate data in the industry. 

I also believe Artemis’ DATs dashboard is the best in the space—its data is more granular than any competitor. Artemis is also the only DATs dashboard with metrics on preferred equity, which I view as the most important upcoming evolution for DATs. This demonstrates not only that Artemis is thoughtful, but that the team truly understands where the industry is going and what will matter most.

8. How was your transition to your role at ParaFi, and what are you doing now? 

During my time at Artemis, I wrote extensively about DATs and developed a strong passion for them. ParaFi is one of the most active investors in this area, so joining the team felt like a natural next step. At ParaFi, I had the opportunity to contribute to new DAT launches while also expanding into token and venture investments in DeFi, which are core focus areas for the firm.

As I learned more about the RWA space, it became clear that credit-based tokenization offered the strongest product–market fit and the greatest long-term potential. I began to draw a connection between the digital credit instruments issued by DATs and the broader RWA tokenization landscape. After a few weeks at ParaFi, I realized I wanted to pursue this idea full-time, so I left to start a stablecoin and yield-bearing RWA protocol. Our goal is to bring digital credit on-chain and build a digital dollar backed by digital credit. The mission of Saturn, our new company, is to drive global adoption of digital credit, and we’re incredibly excited about the opportunity ahead.

How to get in contact with Kevin?

You can find or reach out to Kevin on Twitter or LinkedIn and learn more about ParaFi here.