On May 19, 2025, Coinbase Global (stock code: COIN) was officially included in the S&P 500 index, marking a gradual entry of cryptocurrency stocks into mainstream visibility. Subsequently, stablecoin issuance giant Circle Internet Group (stock code: CRCL) was listed on the New York Stock Exchange on June 5, with an IPO price of $31. By June 19, the stock price had surged over 600%, leading to a 'meme coin season' in the US stock market.
Cryptocurrency stocks are becoming a unique 'crypto hotspot': traditional market investors are beginning to pay attention to companies in the crypto industry, while crypto community members view the price changes of crypto stocks as one of the indicators of market trends. This article will outline the recent speculative targets of cryptocurrency concept stocks in the US stock market.
Note: This article was written on June 19. Due to the escalating situation of the Middle East war, there may be discrepancies between current stock prices and those mentioned in the article.
Circle and the concept of stablecoins
Circle Internet Group (stock code: CRCL)
Listing date: June 2025 | Exchange: NYSE | Stock code: CRCL | Market cap: approximately 42 billion USD
On June 5, 2025, 'the first stablecoin stock' Circle Internet Group (stock code: CRCL) officially listed on the New York Stock Exchange, becoming the first large cryptocurrency company to successfully IPO since Coinbase. The IPO price was $31, doubling on the first day, and by June 19, the stock price had soared to $199.81, setting a new record for the three-day cumulative performance of US stock IPOs since 2020.
Circle was established in 2013, initially entering the market with the P2P payment application Circle Pay, and briefly ventured into exchange business (like Poloniex), but did not achieve breakthroughs. In 2018, Circle began to transition towards the stablecoin track, collaborating with Coinbase to focus on the issuance and management of USDC. Currently, USDC is widely used across various platforms, including Binance and Uniswap, becoming one of the most active stablecoins in DeFi and cross-border payments.
Against the backdrop of the implementation of the GENIUS Act in the US and Hong Kong's stablecoin regulatory regulations, CRCL's surge is not only a recognition of its fundamentals and revenue model by the market but also reflects a concentrated bet on the future value of the stablecoin track. Stablecoins are gradually evolving from marginal tools to core infrastructure, with large financial institutions on Wall Street frequently expressing intentions to issue stablecoins. Circle's scarcity combined with policy dividends has driven its valuation to skyrocket.
In addition, Circle continues to expand its landing scenarios globally in cross-border clearing, on-chain settlement, and government cooperation. An increasing number of enterprises are using USDC as a real-time stable payment alternative to SWIFT, attempting to build a more efficient and transparent capital flow network using blockchain technology. In the future, CRCL's performance will not only be a valuation judgment by investors on a technology company but also a pricing of the possibilities of a new generation global payment system.
Related reading: (The eve of a major transformation for stablecoins: The acceleration frenzy brought by Circle's surge)
Coinbase Global (stock code: COIN)
Listing date: April 14, 2021 | Exchange: NASDAQ | Stock code: COIN | Market cap: approximately 75 billion USD
Coinbase was founded in 2012 and serves over 120 million users across more than 100 countries. The platform supports various cryptocurrency trading while providing retail and institutional services, including Coinbase Custody and Prime, managing assets exceeding $200 billion. Coinbase holds licenses in multiple US states and continues to deepen its efforts in the crypto space, including public chains, infrastructure, and payments.
Recently, the Coinbase ecosystem welcomed multiple significant updates: its Layer2 network Base performed well, with DeFi TVL exceeding $5 billion, and announced the integration of DEX on Base into its main application to inject liquidity into on-chain assets; at the same time, it partnered with Shopify to launch USDC checkout functionality, promoting the implementation of stablecoin commercial payments; on the consumer side, it collaborated with American Express to launch the first crypto credit card, the Coinbase One Card; in addition, Coinbase also launched CFTC-compliant perpetual contract features in the US and acquired the options exchange Deribit to accelerate its layout in the derivatives market.
Behind CRCL's surge, the market seems to have overlooked that Coinbase is the biggest winner of this feast. USDC was jointly launched by Circle and Coinbase through the Centre alliance in 2018, and after the alliance was dissolved in 2023, Coinbase acquired equity in Circle in August of the same year. According to Circle's IPO filing, Coinbase earns half of the remaining income from Circle's USDC reserves, 'earning' 50% passively.
Related reading: (Coinbase aims to become the 'American Binance')
The concept of 'Bitcoin reserves'
MicroStrategy Incorporated (stock code: MSTR)
Listing date: June 1998 | Exchange: NASDAQ | Stock code: MSTR | Market cap: approximately 103 billion USD
Before venturing into the crypto space, MicroStrategy's core business was providing business intelligence software platforms to help companies with data analysis, reporting, and information dissemination, which was rather mediocre. What truly brought MicroStrategy into mainstream visibility was its Bitcoin strategic reserve strategy.
Since August 2020, CEO Michael Saylor has taken the lead in making Bitcoin the primary reserve asset on the company's balance sheet, continuously increasing BTC holdings through methods such as issuing convertible bonds. As of mid-2025, the company held over 500,000 Bitcoins, accounting for nearly 3% of the global Bitcoin circulation, and pledged 'not to sell a single Bitcoin.'
This strategy made MicroStrategy a quasi-ETF target for Bitcoin concepts in the US stock market. For many institutional investors, MSTR provided a channel to 'indirectly hold Bitcoin through traditional financial markets.' Benefiting from the continuous rise in Bitcoin prices, MSTR's stock price soared from $12 in 2020 to over $360, an increase of more than 30 times, with its market cap's correlation to Bitcoin prices ranging between 0.7 and 0.9, showing a very strong positive relationship.
In the context of the accelerated financialization of Bitcoin, the approval of ETFs, and the surging demand for institutional allocations, MicroStrategy's 'BTC-based' strategy is no longer an isolated case but has evolved into a bellwether for the entire crypto industry. Its pioneering model has triggered a chain reaction, with more and more companies beginning to imitate the 'MicroStrategy path'—actively buying Bitcoin through financing, bond issuance, and incorporating it into their balance sheets, sparking a new wave of 'public companies hoarding coins.'
GameStop Corp. (stock code: GME)
Listing date: June 2002 | Exchange: NYSE | Stock code: GME | Market cap: approximately 10.5 billion USD
GameStop is a multi-channel video game and consumer electronics retailer based in the United States, with operations covering the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. The company sells new and used gaming consoles, physical and digital game software, and various accessories through its brands including GameStop, EB Games, and Micromania, with hardware and peripheral devices being the main source of its revenue.
In February 2025, CEO Ryan Cohen met with MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor; this meeting was seen by the market as an important signal that GameStop was emulating MicroStrategy's 'hoarding coins' model. In March, the company announced plans to use Bitcoin as a reserve asset. The stock price surged 12% in March. Rumors in February also boosted GME's stock price by 18%.
At the end of May, the company confirmed that it had purchased approximately 4,710 Bitcoins (worth about $513 million), officially incorporating Bitcoin into its balance sheet and becoming the 13th largest Bitcoin-holding company globally. Following this short-term news stimulus, on June 11, the company announced a $1.75 billion note issuance plan for Bitcoin's strategic reserve. After the bond issuance announcement, GME's stock price fell over 11% post-market on June 11, and on June 12, GME's stock price plummeted over 23%, partly due to a 17% decline in first-quarter revenue to $732.4 million, and also reflecting investors' concerns about potential share dilution and the Bitcoin investment strategy. Recently, GME completed a $2.25 billion issuance of convertible senior notes to strengthen its Bitcoin strategy. GME's stock price closed at $22.99 on June 17, down about 1.4% on the day.
Trump Media & Technology Group Corp (stock code: DJT)
Listing date: September 2021 | Exchange: NASDAQ | Stock code: DJT | Market cap: approximately 5.1 billion USD
Trump Media & Technology Group is a comprehensive technology company focused on social media, digital streaming, and technology infrastructure. The company's flagship product, Truth Social, aims to create a public discourse space that encourages free speech and decentralized censorship, while also being an important Trump concept stock.
On May 27, 2025, DJT suddenly announced a $2.5 billion Bitcoin treasury strategy, explicitly including Bitcoin in its asset reserves for 'financial stability and long-term value storage.' This news directly stimulated a short-term rise of 1.17% in Bitcoin prices, pushing it above the $112,000 mark. DJT's stock price experienced a rollercoaster of fluctuations after the announcement, initially rising in pre-market trading, followed by a brief drop of nearly 12%, marking its largest single-day decline since March 10, 2025, reflecting market investors' concerns about Bitcoin investments.
In June, DJT announced that its S-3 registration statement had been approved by the SEC and immediately initiated equity and convertible bond agreements with approximately 50 investors, raising up to $2.3 billion. According to the disclosure, most of this financing will be directly used to purchase Bitcoin, making DJT the second large US public company after MicroStrategy to treat Bitcoin as a strategic asset reserve.
Other companies
MicroStrategy, once seen as a high-risk niche strategy, is evolving into a mainstream narrative path that cross-industry companies are competing to imitate five years later. More and more companies are beginning to incorporate crypto assets into their reserve systems, attempting to reconstruct their valuation logic through 'crypto reserves + capital market leverage.'
Fitness equipment manufacturer Interactive Strength (stock code: TRNR) and medical company Semler Scientific (stock code: SMLR) have both invested in Bitcoin, approving investment plans of up to $5 million and 1,570 Bitcoins, respectively. AI company Genius Group (stock code: GNS) also joined the fray, spending $14 million to purchase 153 Bitcoins. Additionally, several companies like Rumble (stock code: RUM), Anixa Biosciences (stock code: ANIX), and LQR House (stock code: YHC) have also entered the Bitcoin investment arena.
Related reading: (The 'MicroStrategy effect' sweeps the US stock market: 30 companies buy coins as reserves, with an average stock price surge of 400%)
The concept of 'coin-stock integration'
SharpLink Gaming (stock code: SBET)
Listing date: May 1997 | Exchange: NASDAQ | Stock code: SBET | Market cap: approximately 600 million USD
SharpLink Gaming is an online technology company operating in the sports betting and online casino gaming sector, connecting sports fans with licensed online sports betting operators to provide personalized betting offers for sports enthusiasts. The company's financial situation is not ideal, experiencing losses for consecutive years. The net profit for 2023 was -14.2432 million USD, and the total revenue for 2024 was -4.5712 million USD.
On May 27, SharpLink Gaming issued 69,100,313 shares of common stock or equivalent securities to investors at a price of $6.15 per share, expecting total proceeds of approximately $425 million. The funds raised will be used to purchase Ethereum as the company's primary reserve asset. The lead investor in this private placement was Consensys Software Inc., with participation from ParaFi Capital, Electric Capital, Pantera Capital, Galaxy Digital, and others.
After the announcement, the SBET stock price surged over 650% in a single day, with a cumulative increase of 1,756% over three days, peaking at $120. Subsequently, the company submitted an S-3 registration statement to the SEC for future securities sales. Although the company clarified that the news was actually misunderstood and did not imply immediate share dilution, the stock price still fell significantly, nearly erasing all recent gains.
SBET may have quickly experienced its 'MicroStrategy effect' in the short term but then dropped back to its original point, suggesting that building cryptocurrency reserves may no longer guarantee stock price boosts.
DeFi Development Corp (stock code: DFDV)
Listing date: July 2023 | Exchange: NASDAQ | Stock code: DFDV | Market cap: approximately 460 million USD
DeFi Development Corp was originally a real estate financing company that used an AI-driven online platform to connect lenders and commercial real estate buyers. In April 2025, a team composed of former Kraken executives purchased 728,632 shares of common stock in DeFi Development Corp, and former Kraken Chief Strategy Officer Joseph Onorati was appointed as chairman and CEO.
Subsequently, the company transformed into a Solana treasury company and purchased 2,858 SOL for the first time on April 8, achieving a tenfold increase in April. By the end of May, the company's SOL holdings had increased to 609,190, valued at over $97 million. The stock price also achieved a fivefold increase in May.
Trident Digital Tech Holdings (stock code: TDTH)
Listing date: September 2024 | Exchange: NASDAQ | Stock code: TDTH | Market cap: approximately 19 million USD
In June 2025, TDTH, a digital transformation leader based in Singapore, announced plans to raise $500 million to create the world's first large-scale corporate XRP reserve and plans to integrate XRP into its digital transformation services for real-time payments and DeFi applications. In the long run, it will involve holding, accumulating, and deeply participating in the Ripple ecosystem to improve its decentralized financial strategy. After the announcement, the stock price dropped over 50% from $0.45 to $0.20.
In addition, three other major companies also announced plans to use XRP as a type of asset in their financial reserves for their payment infrastructure. Pharmaceutical company Wellgistics Health (stock code: WGRX) invested $50 million in XRP; energy group VivoPower International (stock code: VVPR) plans to purchase $100 million worth of XRP; and leading hospitality company Webus International (stock code: WETO) will raise $300 million to build XRP reserves. Following the announcement, the company's stock prices all experienced a certain degree of decline, reflecting that altcoins like XRP have not yet gained recognition from mainstream financial institutions and are still considered high-risk investments.
SRM Entertainment, Inc. (stock code: SRM)
Listing date: August 2023 | Exchange: NASDAQ | Stock code: SRM | Market cap: approximately 190 million USD
On June 16, 2025, toy and souvenir design and development company SRM announced a $100 million equity investment to launch a TRON token (TRX) reserve strategy. Meanwhile, TRON blockchain founder Justin SUN was appointed as a company advisor and will be listed on NASDAQ through a reverse merger with Tron.
After the announcement, SRM's stock price surged more than tenfold, reaching a historic high, with a market cap exceeding $100 million.
The surges of Circle and MicroStrategy have shown the market the enormous growth potential of the stablecoin track and the 'MicroStrategy' model. More and more traditional financial institutions, tech giants, and small to medium enterprises are joining the stablecoin track to build new financial strategies around cryptocurrency reserves. However, whether this model can withstand cycles and resist volatility still relies on long-term market testing and the enterprise's risk control capabilities.
