The market was expecting a traditional altseason — when after bitcoin’s growth, capital flows into alternative tokens. But according to Alana Levin, former Boston Consulting Group analyst and partner at Variant fund, this time it has already started. Only not on the blockchain, but in the stock market.
Institutional investors are increasingly investing not in altcoins, but in shares of companies related to the crypto industry. Against the backdrop of spot ETF approvals and the emergence of clear regulatory frameworks, it is public companies that have become the main channel for new capital.
Institutions are redirecting capital
According to Levin, the familiar “bitcoin — alts” cycle no longer works. BTC dominance remains at 58%, and capital hardly flows into other tokens. Instead, institutions are directing funds into regulated crypto stocks available through traditional brokerage channels.
‘New capital is entering the market now. But it’s not retail — it’s funds and corporations. Retail investors act quickly, while institutions wait for legitimization. And that moment has already arrived,’ Levin noted.
She links this to a series of recent events: approval of bitcoin and ether ETFs, SEC initiatives like Project Crypto, and statements from Nasdaq leadership about plans to tokenize shares. All this makes crypto exposure safer and more convenient for institutions.
Why stocks are beating tokens
Buying a token directly is difficult for large players: it requires new processes for custody, reporting, and compliance. But shares of crypto-related companies already fit into familiar operational frameworks.
‘Institutions are not ready to hold dozens of “long-tail” altcoins. Buying shares of Coinbase or Robinhood is easier, safer, and legally more transparent for them,’ Levin added.
CeFi beats DeFi
The data confirms the shift. Since the start of 2025:
- Coinbase (COIN) grew by 53%
- Robinhood (HOOD) added 299%
- Galaxy Digital (GLXY) doubled (+100%)
- Circle (CRCL) grew by 368% since its IPO
For comparison: bitcoin +31%, ether +35%, solana +21%.
Artemis head John Ma explained that the growth in stocks is not only due to hype, but also real performance. Coinbase recorded $1.5 billion in net profit, and Robinhood — $1.2 billion in the second quarter.
‘Centralized platforms dominate today: $80 billion daily volume at Coinbase versus only $293 billion per month at Hyperliquid, where there are only about 50,000 active traders,’ Ma noted.
History repeats itself — just in a different format
Levin believes that the current stock rally repeats the logic of previous altseasons: capital concentrates in a limited number of quality assets, rather than being scattered across hundreds of tokens.
In the future, in her opinion, rotation will continue — from stablecoin issuers to exchanges and infrastructure companies, reflecting the classic “wave-like” cycles of the crypto market.
‘We are already at the beginning of a new round. Several IPOs of crypto sector companies are coming, and later new instruments for direct investment in tokens will appear. Altseason in digital assets may still be ahead. But on Wall Street, it is already in full swing,’ Levin concluded.
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