Crypto week in Washington, DC, is over, but the bullishness among investors keeps building.
The legislative sprint to boost the crypto market last week concluded with Donald Trump signing the GENIUS Act, a bill that creates a framework for the issuance and use of stablecoins.
Its passage boosted crypto prices and sparked momentum for companies with high stablecoin exposure, such as Circle Internet Group and Coinbase.
The milestones are expected to usher in a new era for crypto, but sources say some areas of the market stand to gain more than others.
Here’s what market experts say they’re watching as the latest developments in crypto unfold.
What the pros are bullish on
Cryptocurrencies went on a broad-based rally as crypto week pushed toward the passage of the GENIUS Act in the Senate, and the momentum hasn’t slowed yet. But that doesn’t mean all coins are equally well-positioned to benefit from this new era.
The first and perhaps most obvious winners investors should look for are also the market’s biggest tokens/
“If investors look at bitcoin as gold, it’s a digital vault,” said Alec Strasmore, founder of Epic Loot Labs. “It’s hard-coded to be scarce, and that’s why big institutions treat it like insurance against a messy financial system. Ethereum is comparable to oil, because it powers the pipes of the internet economy.”
Strasmore took the analogy even further, comparing Solana to telecommunications, stating “its fast, it’s cheap, and it’s built for the average retail trader.” He highlighted the important role the blockchain network plays in mobile apps and social platforms.
Ethereum has been on a particularly wild rally, up 53% to $3,763.40 in July. That’s mainly because the GENIUS Act is expected to boost the issuance of stablecoins, which run on the ethereum blockchain.
On the stock front, Strasmore named Coinbase a top pick.
“They are treated as the custodial centralized exchange for retail traders and it wins because it’s the most compliant crypto exchange and has clear rules.”
Strasmore also called attention to the intersection of crypto and artificial intelligence (AI), naming prominent chipmakers Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices as likely winners.
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“Not only are they the backbone of mining and the technical lift for all blockchain, but they also play a huge part in the AI narrative,” he said. “We’ve seen that play out on the market with these exponential, monstrous gains, month over month.”
Isaac Joshua, CEO of Gems Blockchain Launchpad, shared a similar take with Business Insider. He named Nvidia as the “unseen winner” of the new crypto boom, predicting that the combination of AI and crypto infrastructure will lead to “explosive chip demand.”
Both Stasmore and Joshua also named Michael Saylor’s Strategy, known for its aggressive bitcoin buying, as a likely winner. “It trades like a high-beta Bitcoin ETF, and every bullish law is fuel,” Joshua said.
Where they advise caution
Still, some assets could struggle in the era.
“Crypto mining companies like Riot Blockchain and MARA Holdings could face increased scrutiny from regulators” said Fei Chen, CEO of Intellectia.AI. “The environmental concerns around crypto mining and the possibility of stricter regulations on energy consumption might create challenges for these companies.”
Chen recommended that investors prioritize balancing risk in their portfolios by focusing on both crypto-related stocks and broader tech trades.
“Investing more in well-established crypto companies and blockchain infrastructure could provide safer, long-term growth prospects,” citing Coinbase as an example.
In addition, Issac highlighted PayPal as a company that also may face challenges in the near future. Although the company has launched its own stablecoin, he noted that it “may be caught between banking regulators and crypto laws,” as the regulatory landscape adjusts.
Issac advised investors to allocate 1%-5% to regulated crypto exposure, naming bitcoin exchange-traded funds such as the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF as a “serious macro play,” and to “Consider COIN or MSTR as high-beta proxies for crypto adoption.”
