Publicly-traded American companies are the best positioned for crypto’s next big rally.
That’s according to analysts at wealth management firm Bernstein, who named crypto exchange Coinbase, stock trading platform Robinhood, and stablecoin issuer Circle as biggest winners in a note to investors seen by DL News.
Gautam Chhugani and three other analysts said that Circle leads in issuing regulated stablecoins, while Coinbase and Robinhood are leveraging blockchain-native tokenisation towards a universal “Everything Exchange.”
The call comes as the US federal government builds a comprehensive regulatory framework at a time when investors seek compliance-first access points to digital assets.
“We believe there is a long runway ahead, with a more sustainable crypto cycle emerging driven by regulatory clarity, institutional capital, and blockchains re-architecting the financial infrastructure of the future,” the analysts said.
Other publicly-traded American companies were mentioned as winners as well.
Michael Saylor’s Strategy continues building the world’s largest Bitcoin treasury exceeding $65 billion, while Figure is emerging as the leading credit-tokenisation marketplace with $13 billion active loans tokenised.
Key pieces of legislation
The Bernstein report cited several initiatives underpinning the crypto industry’s boom.
US President Donald Trump signing the Genius Act into law has fuelled the global stablecoin market to grow 50% in 2025 to exceed $305 billion in supply, according to DefiLlama data.
The Clarity Act is expected to clear up longstanding regulatory uncertainty on digital asset tokens. Matt Hougan, Bitwise’s chief investment officer, told DL News in October that the bill’s passage in 2025 is nearly certain, despite the shutdown.
Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins’ Project Crypto was also described in the report as the “most ambitious initiative to integrate securities markets with blockchain technology.”
Here’s what Bernstein had to say about Coinbase, Robinhood and Circle:
Coinbase
Bernstein described Coinbase as core infrastructure for institutional crypto, positioning it as the key beneficiary of Washington’s new market rules.
With the Clarity Act passed in the House and a bipartisan Senate bill under review, analysts said Coinbase’s compliance-first model aligns naturally with a Commodity Futures Trading Commission-led framework.
This week, US senators unveiled a bill designed to give the CFTC oversight power over crypto.
Coinbase has the scale, governance, and regulatory relationships to support institutional inflows once the rules are finalised, Bernstein said.
In October, Bernstein said it expected Coinbase shares to surge to a $510 price, 67% above its current price.
Robinhood
Robinhood’s “genius has been its multi-asset proposition, and it is further evolving into a financial services leader for the next generation,” Bernstein said.
Last week, analysts projected the company’s stock price jumping to $160 from $142 in an investor note shared with DL News.
“As traditional brokers hesitated to enter digital assets, Robinhood moved early — crypto now accounts for ~40% of retail trading revenue, creating a duopoly with Coinbase,” Bernstein said.
Circle
Rounding out Bernstein’s list of winners is Circle, issuer of the USDC stablecoin. The analysts described the firm as the most strategically positioned player in tokenised payments.
“Circle benefits from strong regulatory standing, liquidity, and network scale,” analysts said.
“Its partnerships with Coinbase and Binance, integration across 28 blockchains, and facilitation of $2.7 trillion annual transaction volume further strengthen its position.”
In October, Bernstein estimated that Circle’s share price will surge to be worth $230, 134% more than its current value.
