Wall Street used to roll its eyes at crypto. That changed when regulators approved spot Bitcoin (BTC 4.16%) exchange-traded funds (ETFs), giving institutions a familiar wrapper for a very unfamiliar asset and unlocking tens of billions of dollars of demand.
Since then, the serious money has clustered around three cryptocurrencies that fill different roles in a portfolio. Bitcoin is the vehicle for digital scarcity, Ethereum (ETH 4.16%) is programmable financial infrastructure, and Solana (SOL 3.22%) is the high-speed growth bet. Let's dive in and take a closer look at each.
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1. Bitcoin
Spot Bitcoin ETFs now hold more than $100 billion in assets, making them one of the most successful ETF launches in history, and institutional investors hold roughly one quarter of the market. Each new dollar flowing into these ETFs forces issuers to buy underlying coins, which aligns perfectly with Bitcoin's fixed 21 million supply cap and its pre-programmed halving cycle.
CRYPTO: BTC
Key Data Points
Portfolio managers appreciate that Bitcoin has no cash flows and no operating complexity. It's simply digital scarcity that might appreciate over long periods if adoption and ETF participation keep rising.
The downsides are also well known. ETFs can accelerate outflows in risk-off markets, and Bitcoin is still volatile enough to deliver deep drawdowns.
2. Ethereum
Ethereum is where much of crypto's real economic activity happens. Its chain currently anchors more than $73 billion in decentralized finance (DeFi) total value locked (TVL), along with roughly $167 billion in stablecoins. It's also a leading home for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), including more than $4 billion in U.S. Treasuries.
CRYPTO: ETH
Key Data Points
Regulators approved spot Ethereum ETFs in 2024, and by mid-2025 institutions held around $7 billion across these products. The bull case is that Ethereum continues dominating DeFi, stablecoins, and tokenization. The bear case is that gas fees could durably spike again, and that competing chains are gaining share, threatening its most profitable segments.
3. Solana
Solana was engineered for high throughput and low fees from day one. Its architecture has been flagged by payment companies as a strong fit for stablecoin settlement and payments. That makes it attractive to institutions looking for exposure to consumer apps, fast trading environments, and payment rails.
CRYPTO: SOL
Key Data Points
Wall Street's interest accelerated after the launch of the first Solana ETF in late October. Early inflows reached hundreds of millions of dollars and sparked a wave of additional filings.
The key risk is competitive pressure. Solana needs to win a meaningful share of emerging categories like AI-driven applications and real-world asset tokenization. If it holds its ground even half the time, the long-term growth runway remains substantial.
