Institutional investors are driving the current market cycle.

Major cryptocurrencies—BTC, ETH, SOL, and BNB—have hit new all-time highs, but only BTC and BNB continued climbing more than 40% after breaking their previous records. SOL surged earlier this year, fueled by the Trump token launch, and ETH was revalued midyear following DAT (Digital Asset Tokenization) buying pressure. However, both have yet to push past their recent highs.

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates last night. With institutions leading this cycle, how much further can the rally go?

1. Institutional Allocation Strategies for the Three Major Cryptocurrencies

How crypto assets are positioned determines their long-term value—and each asset’s positioning shapes how institutions allocate them.

Bitcoin: Digital Gold as an Inflation Hedge

Bitcoin is positioned as “Digital Gold,” and its long-term narrative is closely linked to the global fiat inflation cycle. Market data shows that its market cap grows in tandem with global M2, and it moves inversely with the U.S. dollar index. Bitcoin’s essential value lies in “inflation resistance and capital preservation,” making it the core asset in institutional portfolios.

Ethereum: The Institutional Narrative Premium of the World Computer

Ethereum is the “World Computer.” While the Foundation’s “Layer2 scaling” story hasn’t resonated with capital markets, Ethereum’s decade-long reliability and zero downtime have put it at the center of institutional narratives—USD stablecoins, RWA (Real World Assets), and tokenized U.S. equities—allowing ETH to overcome the collapse of the Web3 narrative and drive a market cap revaluation with a key push from DAT. Ethereum’s stability and security position it as the settlement layer for institutional-grade applications.

Solana: Activity Advantage for Internet Capital Markets

Solana’s role as “Internet Capital Markets”—on-chain asset issuance, trading, and clearing—was reborn after the FTX collapse. Year to date, Solana has claimed 46% of all on-chain trading volume and maintains over 3 million daily active users, making it the most active blockchain today. Solana’s superior throughput and deep liquidity continue to anchor crypto-native trading ecosystems.

With these distinctive roles, institutional allocation logics diverge. Traditional finance typically begins by understanding Bitcoin’s value, progresses to developing institutional business on Ethereum, and ultimately recognizes the value of on-chain trading. The journey is a familiar one: skepticism, understanding, and adoption.

2. Gradient Differences in Institutional Holdings

Institutional holdings in BTC, ETH, and SOL show clear tiered differences, reflecting how quickly and strongly institutions have adopted each project.

Source: IOBC Capital

In comparison, institutional holdings of BTC and ETH each exceed 18% of circulating supply; SOL’s institutional ownership is just 9.5%, suggesting room for catch-up.

3. SOL DAT: New Developments in Crypto-Linked Equities

Over the past month, 18 SOL DAT companies have launched, pushing SOL up more than 50% from its August lows.

Noteworthy SOL DAT companies include:

Source: IOBC Capital

Among these, Forward Industries—led by Multicoin Capital founder Kyle Samani—may emerge as the leader in SOL DAT.

Unlike BTC DAT firms that simply hold assets, many SOL DAT companies are building their own Solana Validators. These activities go beyond a simple NAV play; instead of waiting for token prices to appreciate, companies use validator operations to earn steady cash flow. The approach is “holding + mining”—capturing both immediate revenue and long-term value.

4. Crypto-Linked Equities: Mapping Capital Market Bets

The performance of crypto-linked stocks reflects how much traditional finance accepts different crypto business lines.

Source: IOBC Capital

Reviewing top performers in this cycle reveals two key drivers:

1. Only significant bets deliver true revaluations. Of 189 listed companies holding BTC, just 30 have BTC worth 70% or more of their market cap, and only 12 hold over 10,000 BTC—all of which posted outsized gains. ETH DAT-listed firms follow a similar pattern. Shallow DAT strategies only create short-term volatility and do not meaningfully bolster market cap or liquidity.

2. Business synergy multiplies commercial value. Expanding a single-point business into a multi-faceted ecosystem unlocks greater value. Robinhood—which offers crypto trading, real-world asset trades, and participates in USDG stablecoin activities—forms a robust capital loop, driving its stock to repeated highs. By contrast, Trump Media’s crypto efforts (BTC holdings, ETH ETF application, Trump, Melania, WLFI tokens) lack meaningful synergy, and both its stock and tokens have struggled to impress the market.

Conclusion

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana represent project philosophies that align with fundamental human instincts for survival, order, and flow.

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