Latest news with #Bitwise
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
These Are The Three Investments That Will Benefit From The SEC's 'Project Crypto,' According To Bitwise
Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Bitwise investment chief Matt Hougan has hailed a recent speech from Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins as "the most bullish document" on cryptocurrencies, outlining sectors that are likely to benefit from the initiative. In a speech to the American Policy Institute last week, Atkins introduced "Project Crypto" as an initiative to update U.S. rules to allow the financial market to move on-chain. Beyond defining the initiative, he outlined concrete steps the agency intended to take to achieve the goal in the coming months. Don't Miss: The same firms that backed Uber, Venmo and eBay are investing in this pre-IPO company disrupting a $1.8T market — 'Scrolling To UBI' — Deloitte's #1 fastest-growing software company allows users to earn money on their phones. "It's the most complete vision of how crypto can reshape financial markets that I've read," Hougan said in a Tuesday note. "I can't imagine reading the speech and not wanting to allocate a significant portion of your capital to crypto." But which cryptocurrency assets in particular should you bet on? Ethereum and Other Layer 1 Blockchains The most obvious plays are leading Layer 1 blockchains, such as Ethereum, Solana, XRP and Cardano, which are likely to host the financial market tokenization envisioned by Atkins. But instead of picking winners, Hougan recommends an index approach. "Having watched the emergence of digital trading in the early 2000s—the last major upgrade of our financial system—I remember that the early market leaders were firms like Island ECN and Instinet," he wrote. Heard of those lately? Me neither. But Nasdaq's stock is up 2,275% since it started trading in July 2002." Several cryptocurrency index fund issuers, including Bitwise, have filed to convert their funds into exchange-traded funds that are more easily accessible to retail investors. A number of these applications, including Bitwise's offering, have received approvals that have been stayed pending an SEC review. Trending: If there was a new fund backed by Jeff Bezos offering a ? "Super-Apps" The next opportunity lies in "Super-Apps," Hougan said. Atkins last week defined super-apps as platforms that offer a broad range of financial products and services "under one roof with a single license." According to Hougan, Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) and Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) are the obvious players moving in this direction. "One of these companies could become the largest financial services company in the world, maybe even becoming the first financial services company worth more than $1 trillion," Hougan said. "Atkins just gave them a roadmap."Decentralized Finance Applications The final category that could benefit from "Project Crypto," according to Hougan, is decentralized finance applications. Atkins last week said these applications should have a place in the U.S. financial market, adding that regulators did not need to try to impose intermediation where it was not necessary. Hougan highlighted that regulatory clarity could unlock significant growth for DeFi applications like Uniswap, Hyperliquid and Aave, which are already processing billions of dollars even without clarity. "As traditional and crypto markets merge, the opportunity is huge," he said. Not Priced In Hougan said that the SEC's recent pivot had likely not been priced into the markets. "I've long been bullish about the future of crypto, and I've said that all assets will eventually move over blockchain-based rails," he said. But after reading the speech, I'm realizing I have to think bigger—and move to a faster timeline. If it wasn't priced in for me, I'm going to guess it wasn't priced in for others." Read Next: — no wallets, just price speculation and free paper trading to practice different strategies. Image: Shutterstock This article These Are The Three Investments That Will Benefit From The SEC's 'Project Crypto,' According To Bitwise originally appeared on Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's Bitcoin retirement order sets stage for billions in demand at seven-year low supply
Retirement savers in the US will soon be able to passively invest in Bitcoin for their nest eggs. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order directing the Labor Department to make it easier for private equity, real estate, cryptocurrencies, and other alternative assets to be included in 401(k) retirement plans. It could channel fresh flows of billions of dollars into digital assets via regulated investment products like spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds. The roughly $8 trillion held in 401(k) accounts, according to 2024 estimates by Bitwise, is one of the largest untapped markets for crypto exposure. Bloomberg estimates this number today to be even higher — around $12.5 trillion. While most portfolios remain concentrated in stocks and bonds, the policy shift opens the door for plan sponsors to offer funds linked to Bitcoin and other private assets. Even a modest allocation could have a market impact. Bitwise's Head of Research, Ryan Rasmussen, noted that just a 3% allocation of 401(k) assets to crypto would amount to about $240 billion in inflows. When factoring in its 60% market dominance, this equates to around $144 billion into Bitcoin alone. Supply crunch Those sums would be chasing a market where the liquid Bitcoin supply is already feeling a squeeze. Data from analytics firm CryptoQuant show that Bitcoin reserves on centralised exchanges have fallen to about 2.5 million, their lowest level in about seven years. At current prices, that's only $300 billion worth. If retirement-plan demand materialises through products like BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust, issuers will need to secure the underlying coins to cover fresh investments. And ETFs aren't the only competitor. This also comes amid a growing trend of aggressive corporate treasury buying. Firms such as Strategy and Japan's Metaplanet have been making large-scale Bitcoin purchases for their balance sheets, often several times a month. Data from Bitcoin Treasuries shows 164 public and private companies now hold close to 1 million Bitcoin worth over $116 billion, approaching 5% of the total max supply. Kyle Baird is DL News' Weekend Editor. Got a tip? Email at kbaird@
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Prediction: Dogecoin Will Be Worth $0.40 in 1 Year
Key Points Dogecoin's price has dropped more than 70% from its all-time high. New ETFs, pro-crypto regulations, and lower interest rates could drive it higher. Big purchases by whales suggest that brighter days are ahead. 10 stocks we like better than Dogecoin › Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE), which was created as a meme-based parody of Bitcoin in 2013, has gone on a wild ride since its market debut. It started trading at about $0.0002, surged to a record high of $0.74 in May 2021, but now trades at about $0.21. A $100 investment made back then would have briefly grown to $370,000 before shrinking to $100,000. A 1,000-bagger gain in less than 12 years is still incredible, but it might struggle to replicate those gains during the next decade. However, I think that doubling its price to $0.40 within the next 12 months remains a realistic target for five simple reasons. 1. The approvals for Dogecoin's spot price ETFs Several major crypto firms -- including Grayscale, Bitwise, and 21Shares -- submitted their applications for Dogecoin spot price exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier this year. Those ETFs could boost Dogecoin's price by attracting more retail and institutional investors. They would also make Dogecoin more comparable to Bitcoin and Ethereum, which were both cleared for their spot price ETFs last year. 2. The Trump administration's crypto-friendly policies The Trump administration is embracing cryptocurrencies with its planned launch of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile, and its appointment of Paul Atkins -- a strong supporter of the crypto industry -- as the new SEC chairman could clear the way for Dogecoin's ETFs. President Donald Trump has also been urging the Federal Reserve, which hasn't cut its benchmark rates this year, to accelerate its rate cuts to spur economic growth. If the Fed finally starts cutting rates again, many investors will rotate back toward riskier assets like Dogecoin. 3. Social media buzz and celebrity endorsements A lot of Dogecoin's early growth was driven by big endorsements from celebrities like Elon Musk, Mark Cuban, and Snoop Dogg. Musk sparked big rallies with his unpredictable tweets about Dogecoin, had Tesla start accepting Dogecoin payments for some of its products in late 2021, and X (formerly Twitter) recently integrated Dogecoin payments into its platform. His creation and brief leadership of the controversial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under the Trump administration generated even more buzz for the meme coin. Dogecoin's huge social media presence -- which includes 2.7 million subreddit members on Reddit and 11.2 billion related views on TikTok -- amplified those gains. That support from celebrities and social media users could drive Dogecoin's price a lot higher on any positive developments. 4. The expansion of its developer ecosystem Dogecoin is mined with the same energy-intensive proof-of-work mechanism as Bitcoin. But unlike Bitcoin, which has a maximum supply of 21 million tokens, Dogecoin is an inflationary token with nearly 150 billion coins in circulation and no maximum supply. Therefore, it can't be valued by its scarcity like Bitcoin or other deflationary tokens. Dogecoin also doesn't support smart contracts, which are used to develop decentralized apps (dApps) and other crypto assets. That limitation is preventing it from becoming a major developer platform like Ethereum or Solana. The bears often argue that Dogecoin's lack of a developer ecosystem will inhibit its growth potential. But that could change as Dogecoin, an official Layer 2 blockchain built on Polygon, tethers more dApps and crypto assets to its cryptocurrency. 5. The whales are accumulating Dogecoin During the past year, some big anonymous investors -- known as whales -- ramped up their purchase of Dogecoin even as retail investors backed off. That more favorable sentiment isn't surprising, since ETF approvals, interest rate cuts, Musk's support, and the gradual expansion of Dogecoin's developer ecosystem could drive its price a lot higher. Considering that Dogecoin traded as high as $0.48 last December, a flurry of positive developments should easily drive it back to at least $0.40. I'm not saying it's a great long-term investment yet, but I wouldn't be too surprised if it doubles within the next year. Should you invest $1,000 in Dogecoin right now? Before you buy stock in Dogecoin, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Dogecoin wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $635,544!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,099,758!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,046% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 181% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 4, 2025 Leo Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends Polygon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Prediction: Dogecoin Will Be Worth $0.40 in 1 Year was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Bitcoin surges on new Trump measure to allow crypto in retirement funds
Crypto investors rejoiced late Thursday morning on news President Donald Trump was set to sign an executive order to make it easier to include alternative assets in employees' retirement accounts. Bitcoin jumped 2% over the past 24 hours to push past $116,000, and Ethereum, the world's second largest cryptocurrency, soared 7% to hit about $3,800, according to data from Binance. The total value of all cryptocurrencies rose almost 2% to $3.9 trillion, per CoinGecko. The rise mirrored the broader surge in the stock market as the S&P 500 notched a slight gain after markets opened before dropping later in the morning. 'This is yet another channel of sustained, long-term demand for Bitcoin that will bid the price higher,' Ryan Rasmussen, head of research at the crypto asset management firm Bitwise, told Fortune. The rise in the crypto and equities markets follows multiple reports that Trump will sign an executive order Thursday midday that will task the Labor Department to reevaluate guidance for fund managers about whether alternative assets can be included in 401(k)s. These assets can include private equity as well as potential crypto products, including Bitcoin ETFs. The guidance is tied to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, or ERISA, which instructs the Labor Department to set investment standards for retirement and health plans. Trump's new executive order will also instruct the Labor Department to work with other regulators, including the Treasury as well as the Securities and Exchange Commission, to align rules across multiple agencies regarding alternative assets' inclusion into retirement plans. Beyond the initial price jump, crypto market analysts believe the order, which essentially reinstates a former policy Trump issued in his first term that President Joe Biden rolled back, will lead to further gains in Bitcoin and other digital assets. The 401(k) market totaled $8.7 trillion in assets in the first quarter of 2025, according to the Investment Company Institute. 'This move effectively opens access to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for retirement investors,' said James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares, another crypto asset manager. Jake Ostrovskis, an OTC trader at the crypto market maker Wintermute, agreed. 'Unlike retail investors, who chase momentum or institutional traders seeking alpha, 401(k) participants typically maintain target allocations through systematic rebalancing—creating sustained, predictable demand flows,' he said. Bitcoin's Thursday price jump follows a week of lows in August after the cryptocurrency notched repeated all-time highs in July, mirroring a corresponding rally in the stock market. This story was originally featured on Effettua l'accesso per consultare il tuo portafoglio
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Fundstrat's Tom Lee: Owning Bitcoin Is Like Owning Land Under A McDonald's
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is undergoing a reframing in how institutions may treat it, not as a volatile asset, but as digital infrastructure akin to real estate. What Happened: Fundstrat co-founder and Bitmine (AMEX:BMNR) chairman Tom Lee drew a sharp analogy in an conversation with Bitwise, saying Bitcoin as a treasury asset is like owning the land underneath a McDonald's franchise, not running the business. "It's better to be the landowner of a McDonald's franchise than the operator," Lee said, explaining that corporations may begin viewing Bitcoin as a foundational asset — one that provides long-term capital leverage much like commercial real estate does in traditional business models. This shift, according to Lee, is a structural rethinking of how companies manage their treasuries. Traditionally, firms preferred renting space or outsourcing infrastructure, similar to how telecoms once undervalued the ownership of cell towers. But just as telecom towers grew into stand-alone, multi-billion dollar businesses, Lee sees Bitcoin following the same path—as infrastructure with compounding network value. Also Read: Why It Matters: Lee further elaborated on this thesis in an interview with CNBC, where he remained bullish on both equity markets and digital assets despite short-term market consolidation. Lee noted that the recent pullback in equities was a consolidation phase, predicting the S&P 500 could return to its all-time highs around 6,500–6,600 in the coming weeks, and reach 7,000 within the next 12 months. As chairman of Bitmine, a newly emerging ETH (CRYPTO: ETH)-focused public company, Lee noted that Bitmine now holds nearly $3 billion in Ether, making it the largest ETH treasury in the world and third-largest overall in crypto. The company recently secured investment from legendary investor Bill Miller, further signaling institutional confidence in long-term crypto plays. Lee argued that weakening labor data and cooling inflation could prompt a dovish pivot by the Fed this fall, potentially igniting a broader market rally that benefits both equities and digital assets. Read Next: Image: Shutterstock Up Next: Transform your trading with Benzinga Edge's one-of-a-kind market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights that can set you ahead in today's competitive market. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? This article Fundstrat's Tom Lee: Owning Bitcoin Is Like Owning Land Under A McDonald's originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
