When most people think about becoming a crypto millionaire, they usually think about buying a single crypto like Bitcoin (BTC -2.19%) and then holding on to it as it delivers stratospheric returns. Over a long enough period of time, even a relatively small upfront investment could turn into $1 million or more. And, indeed, according to Henley & Partners' Crypto Wealth Report, there are more than 40,000 Bitcoin millionaires in the world right now.
But here's another strategy that you might not have considered: buying crypto stocks that have the potential to outperform Bitcoin. This year, for example, Bitcoin is up more than 160%, but a number of crypto stocks are up 300% or more for the year. Here's a closer look at two crypto stocks that could help put you on the path to millionaire status.
Coinbase Global
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global (COIN 5.68%), up a sizzling 330% in 2023, could be one of the biggest beneficiaries of any extended Bitcoin rally in 2024. When Bitcoin is down, investor interest wanes. But when Bitcoin is up, investors suddenly decide to dip their toes into the crypto waters. So Bitcoin could be the key to bringing in new users and increasing overall trading volume.
Bitcoin now accounts for about a third of all trading volume on the Coinbase platform. Thus, while Coinbase offers 240 possible cryptos to trade, the real focus is on Bitcoin. And right now, Coinbase appears to be looking for ways to tap into the growing investor excitement around Bitcoin. In one recent marketing promotion, all you had to do was make a single crypto trade on the platform, and you'd be entered into a drawing for two Bitcoins (worth more than $86,000 at today's prices).
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In addition to courting the individual retail investor, Coinbase has been looking for ways to become more attractive to large institutional investors. In August 2022, for example, it partnered with BlackRock, the largest asset manager in the world, to provide crypto trading services to institutional investors. Then, last June, BlackRock tapped Coinbase to be the custodian for its highly anticipated spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) offering.
And there are other long-term initiatives on tap at Coinbase, including one that involves the tokenization of real-world assets. The big idea here is to enable Wall Street firms to trade traditional financial assets on the blockchain. In August, Coinbase launched Base, its own proprietary blockchain, to help make that a reality.
The big caveat, of course, is that Coinbase has delivered such outsize returns this year that some institutional investors are starting to take profits on their positions. Ark Invest, for example, recently sold $100 million in Coinbase shares in a single week. This is most likely just routine portfolio rebalancing at the end of the year, but what if Cathie Wood of Ark Invest thinks the rally was overdone?
MicroStrategy
Another crypto stock that is highly leveraged to the price of Bitcoin is MicroStrategy (MSTR 3.38%). On the surface, MicroStrategy might look a lot like an enterprise software stock. But MicroStrategy is really just a giant Bitcoin treasury. Some have even compared the company to a Bitcoin ETF.
Currently, MicroStrategy holds 174,530 Bitcoins on its balance sheet, making the company the largest public holder of Bitcoin in the world. To put that number into context, the current circulating supply of Bitcoin is about 20 million coins. Thus, MicroStrategy controls just under 1% of the total available Bitcoin supply in the world.
As might be imagined, this means that the price of MicroStrategy is highly leveraged to the price of Bitcoin. If Bitcoin goes up, then the price of MicroStrategy goes up. Year to date, Bitcoin is up more than 160% this year, and MicroStrategy is up 310%. As long as the price of Bitcoin continues to go up, the value of MicroStrategy should continue to go up too.
Just keep in mind, though, that most of MicroStrategy's market value is tied up in Bitcoin. The total market cap of MicroStrategy right now is $9.1 billion, while the total value of the Bitcoins on its balance sheet is $7.5 billion. Thus, the market is giving only a small valuation to the underlying software business of MicroStrategy. While the company is now getting into AI-powered software solutions, the core enterprise software business of MicroStrategy is only growing at a 1% clip.
How much Bitcoin is too much Bitcoin?
In 2024, investors will have several ways to buy Bitcoin. They can buy Bitcoin directly in the crypto market. They will be able to buy Bitcoin via new spot Bitcoin ETFs that are expected to arrive in the first quarter of the year. And, finally, they can buy Bitcoin via "Bitcoin proxy stocks" like Coinbase and MicroStrategy.
So, as an investor, the question becomes: How much Bitcoin is too much Bitcoin? If you already have a sizable position in Bitcoin, you might want to diversify elsewhere beyond just companies that are tied to the price of Bitcoin. But if you are looking to amplify your Bitcoin returns and accelerate your path to millionaire status, it might be worth considering these stocks as a way to turbocharge your portfolio returns.
