{"id":432433,"date":"2026-06-28T21:38:54","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T16:08:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/the-next-crypto-recovery-trade-might-be-equities-instead-of-tokens-crypto-news\/"},"modified":"2026-06-28T21:44:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T16:14:10","slug":"the-next-crypto-recovery-trade-might-be-equities-instead-of-tokens-crypto-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/the-next-crypto-recovery-trade-might-be-equities-instead-of-tokens-crypto-news\/","title":{"rendered":"The next crypto recovery trade might be equities instead of tokens &#8211; Crypto News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The total crypto market cap is down more than 36% year over year, the altcoin complex sits roughly 45% below its October 2025 peak, and Bitcoin is on course for its worst annual start in more than a decade, with capital rotating into AI stocks and major IPOs.<\/p>\n<p>Three years of waiting for a broad altseason that never arrived have left altcoin traders with fast-decaying narratives, unlock-driven selling, memecoin rotations that rewarded a handful of early buyers, and rallies that faded before most participants could size in.<\/p>\n<p>Some investors are now asking whether owning the companies that profit from crypto activity is a cleaner trade <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/altcoins-wont-recover-when-bitcoin-finally-rebounds-and-heres-why\/\">than picking the next token<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>On June 25, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/companies\/ark-invest\/\">ARK&#8217;s ETFs<\/a> bought roughly <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ark-funds.com\/ark-trade-notifications\/?__hsfp=3048210833&#038;__hssc=181257784.8.1702041446905&#038;__hstc=181257784.12c72e1274dc26cc35c7cf6d165b24ec.1700059996893.1702037127242.1702041446905.332\">$5.4 million in four crypto-linked equities<\/a>, even as all four stocks traded lower.<\/p>\n<p>The purchases totaled approximately $1.28 million on <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/companies\/coinbase\/\">Coinbase<\/a>, $637,455 on <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/companies\/circle\/\">Circle<\/a>, $199,895 on Bullish, and $3.27 million on Robinhood. <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/people\/cathie-wood\/\">Cathie Wood<\/a> was buying into weakness, and the stocks she chose are companies that monetize crypto activity.<\/p>\n<p>Crypto-linked equities give investors exposure to crypto activity, including <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/trading\/\">trading<\/a> volumes, stablecoin circulation, custody assets, derivatives flows, and retail speculation.<\/p>\n<p>In the kind of low-energy chop that has defined the past three years, the two bets diverge sharply.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_544585\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-544585\" style=\"width: 975px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><noscript><\/noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-544585 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/brave_hpEA2PcmPj.jpg\" alt=\"ARK's June 25 crypto-linked equity buys\" width=\"975\" height=\"675\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/brave_hpEA2PcmPj.jpg 975w, https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/brave_hpEA2PcmPj-300x208.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/brave_hpEA2PcmPj-768x532.jpg 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 975px) 100vw, 975px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-544585\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">ARK invested roughly $5.4 million across four crypto-linked equities on June 25, led by $3.27 million in Robinhood, while all four stocks traded lower.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>What each name represents<\/h2>\n<p>Coinbase&#8217;s first-quarter update reported crypto trading volume market share at 8.6%, derivatives trading volume up 169% year over year on a trailing-twelve-month basis, and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/coinbase-went-down-for-after-5-hours-after-missing-earnings-bulls-still-see-a-path-to-300-billion-by-2030\/\">12% of global crypto assets in custody<\/a>, with more than 25% of <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/coins\/usd-coin\/\">USDC<\/a> in circulation held in Coinbase products.<\/p>\n<p>Those structural positioning numbers reflect what Coinbase collects when volumes return and how exposed it is when they recede.<\/p>\n<p>Coinbase&#8217;s transaction revenue for the period fell approximately 40% to $756 million, total revenue dropped to $1.43 billion from $2.03 billion a year earlier, and the company posted a second consecutive quarterly loss as trading momentum faded.<\/p>\n<p>Circle&#8217;s USDC circulation reached $77 billion in the first quarter, up 28% year over year, while on-chain USDC transaction volume <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/circle-adds-3-billion-arc-token-for-wall-street-risking-an-uncomfortable-rivalry-with-coinbase\/\">rose 263% to $21.5 trillion<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"cs-article-embed\"> <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/circle-adds-3-billion-arc-token-for-wall-street-risking-an-uncomfortable-rivalry-with-coinbase\/\" class=\"cs-article-embed__link\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"cs-article-embed__media\"> <noscript><img width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/arc-token-unvail-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Circle adds $3 billion Wall Street Arc token risking an uncomfortable rivalry with Coinbase\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/noscript><img class=\"lazyload\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/arc-token-unvail-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Circle adds $3 billion Wall Street Arc token risking an uncomfortable rivalry with Coinbase\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/div>\n<div class=\"cs-article-embed__body\"> <span class=\"cs-article-embed__related-reading\">Related Reading<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"cs-article-embed__title\">Circle adds $3 billion Wall Street Arc token risking an uncomfortable rivalry with Coinbase<\/h3>\n<p>A longtime stablecoin partnership is entering a new phase as Circle seeks to own more of the infrastructure around USDC.<\/p>\n<p> <span class=\"cs-article-embed__meta-item\">May 12, 2026<\/span> <span class=\"cs-article-embed__meta-divider\">\u00b7<\/span> <span class=\"cs-article-embed__meta-item\">Oluwapelumi Adejumo<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/a><\/div>\n<p>Total revenue and reserve income came in at $694 million, up 20%, driven by higher average USDC circulation, partly offset by a lower reserve return rate. Live data as of June 25 showed $73.6 billion USDC in circulation.<\/p>\n<p>Circle&#8217;s economics run on circulation size, reserve yields, and distribution arrangements, with altcoin narrative cycles carrying no weight in that model.<\/p>\n<p>Every 100 basis points of gross reserve-yield movement on $77 billion in circulation equals roughly $770 million annualized before costs.<\/p>\n<p>CRCL trades as a rates-and-dollar-liquidity bet layered atop a stablecoin <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/adoption\/\">adoption<\/a> bet, with a risk profile shaped primarily by interest rates and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/regulation\/\">regulatory<\/a> outcomes.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/products\/robinhood\/\">Robinhood&#8217;s<\/a> crypto revenue came in at $134 million in the first quarter, down 47% year over year, and Robinhood App&#8217;s crypto notional trading volume fell 48%, with an additional $42 billion from Bitstamp bringing the total notional to $66 billion.<\/p>\n<p>Bullish rounds out the basket on the institutional side, reporting digital asset sales of $51.8 billion in the first quarter, adjusted EBITDA of $35.1 million, and 14% open-interest <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/market\/\">market<\/a> share in BTC options in April.<\/p>\n<div id=\"cs-inline-newsletter-6a4133b620f1a\" class=\"cs-inline-newsletter\" data-inline-newsletter=\"\">\n<div class=\"cs-inline-newsletter__inner\">\n<div class=\"cs-inline-newsletter__content\"> <span class=\"cs-inline-newsletter__eyebrow\">CryptoSlate Daily Brief<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"cs-inline-newsletter__title\">Daily signals, zero noise.<\/h3>\n<p class=\"cs-inline-newsletter__copy\">Market-moving headlines and context delivered every morning in one tight read.<\/p>\n<p> <span><i class=\"fa-regular fa-bolt\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/> 5-minute digest<\/span> <span><i class=\"fa-regular fa-star\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/> 100k+ readers<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"cs-inline-newsletter__form-shell\">\n<p class=\"cs-inline-newsletter__privacy\">Free. No spam. Unsubscribe any time.<\/p>\n<p> <i class=\"fa-regular fa-circle-xmark\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/> <span>Whoops, looks like there was a problem. Please try again.<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <i class=\"fa-regular fa-circle-check\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/> <span>You\u2019re subscribed. Welcome aboard.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Company<\/th>\n<th>Crypto exposure<\/th>\n<th>What has to return<\/th>\n<th>Main risk<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Coinbase<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Exchange fees, custody, derivatives, USDC economics<\/td>\n<td>Trading volume, institutional activity, retail speculation<\/td>\n<td>Revenue falls quickly when volumes fade<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Circle<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>USDC circulation, reserve income, payments infrastructure<\/td>\n<td>Stablecoin adoption, supportive rates, regulatory clarity<\/td>\n<td>Lower rates or distribution costs compress economics<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Robinhood<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Retail crypto brokerage, app-based speculation, Bitstamp volume<\/td>\n<td>Retail risk appetite and crypto notional volume<\/td>\n<td>Retail flow can disappear fast in low-energy markets<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Bullish<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Institutional exchange infrastructure, digital asset sales, BTC options<\/td>\n<td>Institutional trading demand and derivatives activity<\/td>\n<td>Institutional volumes contract when crypto sentiment weakens<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2>The trade that follows<\/h2>\n<p>In the bull case, retail speculation returns, derivatives activity recovers, and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/stablecoins\/\">stablecoin<\/a> supply continues to expand.<\/p>\n<p>Under those conditions, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/exchanges\/\">exchanges<\/a> and brokers may <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/price-watch\/\">reprice<\/a> before broad altcoin rotation becomes obvious, because transaction revenue and earnings estimates can reset faster than token narratives form.<\/p>\n<p>Coinbase adding 10% to its transaction revenue base of $756 million in the first quarter means roughly $76 million more per quarter, and that figure reaches $189 million at 25%.<\/p>\n<p>The companies collecting fees from renewed activity can move forward with estimates before anyone agrees on which L1, L2, or sector token to own.<\/p>\n<p>In the bear case, AI, IPOs, and public-market equities continue to absorb capital, crypto volumes stay thin, and the narrative churn that has defined the past three years continues.<\/p>\n<p>When activity fades, public crypto firms feel it directly in revenue, as Coinbase and Robinhood&#8217;s recent results already show.<\/p>\n<p>Circle depends on USDC circulation holding and reserve yields staying supportive, and Bullish depends on institutional trading demand that can itself contract when broader crypto sentiment turns.<\/p>\n<p>A prolonged crypto winter leaves every one of these businesses earning well below full capacity.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_544586\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-544586\" style=\"width: 959px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-544586 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/brave_b4b1VIMbvm.jpg\" alt=\"Tokens vs. crypto-linked equities\" width=\"959\" height=\"678\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/brave_b4b1VIMbvm.jpg 959w, https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/brave_b4b1VIMbvm-300x212.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/brave_b4b1VIMbvm-768x543.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 959px) 100vw, 959px\"\/><\/noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-544586 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/brave_b4b1VIMbvm.jpg\" alt=\"Tokens vs. crypto-linked equities\" width=\"959\" height=\"678\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/brave_b4b1VIMbvm.jpg 959w, https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/brave_b4b1VIMbvm-300x212.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/brave_b4b1VIMbvm-768x543.jpg 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 959px) 100vw, 959px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-544586\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tokens offer price beta through momentum and unlock risk; crypto equities offer activity beta through volumes, stablecoins, custody, and retail flow.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The old version of the rebound thesis trade required picking a token before retail found it, accepting the liquidity risk, the unlock schedule, the narrative decay, and the possibility that rotation passed through a separate sector entirely. The equity version trades token-level upside for a more legible bet on activity itself.<\/p>\n<p>Whether this cycle&#8217;s rotation looks like 2021&#8217;s broad altseason or something narrower, faster, and harder to ride from the token side is the question Wood is already positioned on the equity side of.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The total crypto market cap is down more than 36% year over year, the altcoin complex sits roughly 45% below its October 2025 peak, and Bitcoin is on course for its worst annual start in more than a decade, with capital rotating into AI stocks and major IPOs. Three years of waiting for a broad [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":432434,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[230,225,221,227,226,228,229,60,223,224,222],"class_list":["post-432433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cryptocurrency","tag-brave","tag-coinbase","tag-crypto","tag-decentralised","tag-decentralized","tag-decentralized-exchange","tag-erc-20","tag-featured","tag-meme-coin","tag-robinhood","tag-solana"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=432433"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432433\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":432435,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432433\/revisions\/432435"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/432434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=432433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=432433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=432433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}