The Great Bitcoin Power Shift Has Large Holders Dumping 500,000 Coins

The crypto industry has emerged triumphant in the first half of 2025.

Investors kicked off the year optimistic about the Trump administration's crypto-friendly stance, including talk of a strategic bitcoin reserve. But enthusiasm wavered early on, after the launch of Trump- and Melania-themed meme coins stirred controversy during a pivotal time for the crypto world.

Momentum returned with the appointment of Paul Atkins as SEC chair and the introduction of a dedicated crypto czar, helping push bitcoin to record highs just below $112,000.

A sharp sell-off followed Trump's April 2 "Liberation Day" tariffs, briefly cooling sentiment. But as June closes with stocks at record levels, crypto has reasserted itself as a top-performing asset.

Year to date, bitcoin (BTC=F) is up 14%, outperforming the S&P 500's (^GSPC) 5% gain. The token's total market capitalization compared to that of all cryptocurrencies has risen to 64%, while alternative coins have faltered.

Meanwhile, crypto trading platform Coinbase (COIN) has soared more than 40% year to date. During the same period, trading platform Robinhood (HOOD) has rallied more than 130%.

"HOOD leaned early into crypto in 2021 and persisted through the regulatory headwinds in 2022/2023, while other brokers played conservative and are only now waking up to the crypto opportunity," Bernstein analysts wrote in May, noting Robinhood now forms 30% of US retail crypto trading revenues.

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Earlier this week, Coinbase closed at a record high for the first time since November 2021, marking a stunning comeback, up more than 900% from its 2022 lows in the aftermath of the collapse of FTX.

The company has emerged as the "Amazon of crypto financial services," Bernstein's Gautam Chhugani wrote last week.

"As the only crypto-native company in the S&P 500, Coinbase dominates US trading, operates the largest stablecoin business among exchanges, and serves as custodian for the majority of US spot bitcoin ETFs," he added.

Coinbase is also a minority stakeholder in Circle (CRCL), an issuer of stablecoins USDC, digital tokens backed by the US dollar that are expected to transform the payments industry.

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Circle shares have surged as much as 500% above their recent blockbuster IPO price on June 5, fueled by the Senate's passage of the GENIUS Act, a regulatory framework for stablecoins.

The measure, expected to make its way through the House and be signed into law this year, requires monthly disclosures and annual audits of issuers. It also opens the door for Big Tech companies like Meta (META) and (AMZN) to issue their own stablecoins.

Coinbase (COIN) stock rallied to 52-week highs on Wednesday as Bernstein analysts dubbed the cryptocurrency platform a "one-stop Amazon" of crypto services.

Shares gained more than 3%, just a stone's throw way from their record close of $357.39 on Nov. 9, 2021.

"Coinbase is the most misunderstood company in our Crypto coverage universe," Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani and his team wrote on Wednesday morning, raising their price target on the stock to $510 from $310 with an Outperform rating.

As the only cryptocurrency company in the S&P 500 (^GSPC), Coinbase dominates US crypto trading, operates the largest stablecoin business among exchanges, and serves as custodian for the underlying assets of the majority of US spot bitcoin ETFs, Bernstein analysts said.

"COIN has also added several fast-growing businesses such as institutional custody, Base blockchain services and Prime lending desk .. .thus, emerging as the ‘Amazon of crypto financial services’, offering crypto financial services beyond simple trading," wrote Chhugani.

The analysts noted the bear thesis on Coinbase has not played out.

"Coinbase’s market share has been persistent despite new competition," wrote Chhugani. "Traditional brokerage competition is several months away from launch, which is an eternity on crypto timelines."

Even Coinbase leadership has highlighted the company’s breadth.

"Under appreciated: @coinbase is powering crypto integrations for ~200 banks, brokerages, fintechs, and payment companies," wrote co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong on X Wednesday morning.

Coinbase stock has surged more than 40% since the Senate passed the GENIUS Act, a bill that would establish a federal framework for stablecoins, digital tokens backed by assets such as the US dollar.

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On Tuesday, Sean Farrell, head of digital asset strategy at Fundstrat, said investors may still have opportunities to get into the trade if they missed the recent spike.

"I still think there's additional upside to Coinbase here, despite the pretty vicious rally we've seen," he said.

Other crypto-related stocks have also rallied this year amid growing institutional adoption of bitcoin (BTC-USD) and momentum around stablecoin regulation.

Circle (CRCL), the issuer of USDC stablecoins, has risen more than 600% since its blockbuster IPO on June 5.

Meanwhile, platform Robinhood (HOOD) is up 126% year to date, while Strategy (MSTR), which owns the largest amount of bitcoin of any public company, is up 32% during the same period.