Keeping Up With the Cryptos

"Crypto and digital assets, and particularly bitcoin, are part of the mainstream economy and are here to stay," U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance told the audience Wednesday at the 2025 Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas, Cleveland.com reported.

He may be right, simply based on recent news in the cryptocurrency sector.

Bitcoin reached an all-time high of $112,000 on May 22. Predictions are that it will skyrocket. Adam Back, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BlockStream, sees bitcoin climbing to $500,000 then continuing on to $1 million ($1M) per coin, U.Today reported. Arthur Hayes, co-founder and former CEO of BitMEX, predicted bitcoin dominance will increase to 70% and after, its price will rise to $1M due to either the inflation or collapse of the fiat system, he told Forbes. "The amount of money that will need to be printed just to maintain the current economic structure is staggering," he said. "That's what's going to propel bitcoin." (At the market's last close, bitcoin was $108,254.)

Among a recent flurry of crypto buying, GameStop purchased 4,710 bitcoin, then valued at about $513M. Spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw $2.75 billion ($2.75B) in inflows, and Michael Saylor's company Strategy acquired $427M worth of bitcoin, during the week of May 19.

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan, announced during its Annual Investor Day on May 19 the bank would allow its customers to purchase spot bitcoin ETFs.

In recent weeks, XRP-related investment products have become available, including futures-based ETFs from firms such as Teucrium Investment Advisors and Volatility Shares, reported The Crypto Basic. None yet is a spot ETF, but nine applications for this type of vehicle are pending.

Growing institutional interest in XRP and other cryptocurrencies could mean XRP is headed for a big run-up, crypto commentators purported. A near-term rally to $27 is possible, according to EGRAG Crypto. BarriC believes XRP could surge to $100 this year. Matthew Brienen, chief operating officer (COO) of CryptoGuard, stated last month that XRP could reach $1,000 in the next 10 years. (XRP was $2.30 at the end of trading Wednesday.)

The U.S. Department of Labor just walked back its stance on the inclusion of crypto options in 401(k) retirements plans, from discouraging the practice to being neutral on it, The Crypto Basic noted. This means crypto assets could become a standard part of retirement portfolios in the country, "potentially unlocking access to over $7 trillion in retirement savings."

USDT Counterpart Planned

Meanwhile, the GENIUS (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins) Act, a bill regulating stablecoins, is advancing through the U.S. Senate. Stablecoins are digital tokens backed 1:1 by fiat reserves, primarily denominated in U.S. dollars," explained Alex Tapscott, managing director at Digital Asset Group and author of Web3. Vance, in his speech at The Bitcoin Conference, said the legislation would lead to greater use of stablecoins as digital payment, make the market more transparent and protect holders of the currency.

The largest stablecoin is Tether (USDT), an Ethereum token pegged to the value of a U.S. dollar. The international issuer Tether Limited Inc. plans to reserve USDT for the ex-U.S. market and roll out another stablecoin to serve the U.S. market, CEO Paolo Ardoino told Bloomberg. "Tether's foray into the U.S. is not only a signal of crypto's rehabilitation in the eyes of the U.S. government, but it is also a sign stablecoins could become strategic financial infrastructure for the U.S.—if Congress can pass legislation that would accelerate their adoption by consumers and businesses alike," Tapscott commented.

Also, Tether plans to debut, later this year, QuantumVerse Automatic Computer (QVAC), its decentralized artificial intelligence (AI) platform that runs on smartphones and other local devices to give users full control, reported Forbes. "Each QVAC AI instance will have a noncustodial crypto wallet, allowing it to receive funds, act on instructions and negotiate transactions autonomously," the article explained.

Here's a look at two public companies in the crypto space.

Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN:NASDAQ)

Coinbase is a U.S.-based online platform for buying, selling, transferring and storing cryptocurrency. "Since going public through a direct listing in 2021, Coinbase has become a bigger part of the U.S. financial system, with bitcoin soaring in value and large institutions gaining regulatory approval to create spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds," CNBC wrote.

In recent news, Coinbase started trading on the Standard & Poor's 500 on May 19, reported CNBC. Mid-month, the crypto exchange was hit with a cyber attack and data breach expected to cost it an estimated $400M, according to a Cyber Management Alliance article. The attackers demanded $20M in exchange for not publicly disclosing customer information, which CEO Brian Armstrong refused to pay. Since, the U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation into the incident, noted Reuters.

As for Coinbase's stock, 11 Wall Street analysts have a Buy rating on it, and 12 consider it a Hold, according to three-month TipRanks data. The 23 analysts' price targets range from $190–400 per share. In comparison, Coinbase's share price was $254.29 at last market close.

According to Refinitiv, 16 strategic entities in aggregate own 2% of Coinbase. The Top 3 are Benjamin Horowitz with 0.79%, Board Member Marc Andreessen with 0.54% and President and COO Emilie Choi with 0.16%.

Total institutional investment is 55.73%. Of these more than 1,300 shareholders, the Top 3 are The Vanguard Group with 9.09%, BlackRock Institutional Trust Co. N.A. with 4.21% and State Street Global Advisors (US) with 2.11%.

The rest is in retail.

Coinbase has 254.7 million (254.7M) outstanding shares and 207.12M free float traded shares. Its market cap is $67.8B. Its 52-week range is $142.58–349.75 per share.

Metalpha Technology Holding Ltd. (MATH:NASDAQ; D92:FSE)

Metalpha is a digital asset-based wealth management service provider headquartered in Hong Kong. One of the largest crypto derivatives traders in Asia, it serves institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals, Daily Political described. The company was incorporated in 2015 as Dragon Victory International Ltd., and its name was changed to Metalpha in 2022.

Metalpha has a bitcoin mining stock fund, managed by a wholly owned subsidiary, LSQ Capital Ltd, a news release indicated. The fund uses the Antalpha BTC Mining Index as the benchmark for investing in publicly listed Bitcoin mining companies. (The company behind the index, Antalpha Technologies Holdings Ltd. (ANTA:NASDAQ), is Metalpha's largest shareholder. Antalpha provides application-specific integrated circuit, or ASIC, financing services for bitcoin miners and bitcoin-backed loans.) The company's BTC Mining Index selects and tracks the performance of the Top 10 publicly traded U.S. bitcoin mining companies and rebalances every six months to reflect updated market conditions. The index offers crypto exposure to mainstream financial investors.

On May 22, Metalpha began trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FSE) under the symbol D92, noted a news release. Inclusion on the FSE should provide investor access throughout European and international markets.

Earlier in the month, the company appointed Liu Yi as senior advisor for crypto mining partnerships and announced its Crypto Mining Sustainable Partnership Program, according to a separate news release. The purpose of the initiative is to develop strategic alliances with mining partners around the world, offering advisory services and financial solutions to support their sustainable growth and success.

According to ETF Daily News, on May 15 Metalpha had $30.86M of gross revenue and ($3.68M) of net income. Its beta of (1.24) suggested its share price was 224% less volatile than the S&P 500. No analyst data are available for the company.

As for ownership and share structure, Refinitiv reports that seven strategic entities own 36.57% of Metalpha in aggregate. The Top 3 are Antalpha Technologies Holdings Ltd. with 15.31%, Folius Ventures LLC with 9.95% and Bingzhong Wang with 3.13%.

Eleven institutional investors hold 10.91% of Metalpha, the top one being KBF Fund Management Ltd. with 10.46%.

The rest is in retail.

Metalpha has 38.37M outstanding shares and 24.34M free float traded shares. Its market cap is $108.21M. Its 52-week range is $0.80–3.07 per share. (When the market closed Wednesday, Metalpha was $3.05 per share.)