In the Arena | July 1, 2025

“3 observations and a chart” on the latest in the digital assets sector

July 2025: Traditional Finance Melding with Crypto

Circle stock up 6x since IPO as investors bet on stablecoins

Circle Internet Group (CRCL), issuer of the USDC stablecoin, completed its IPO in early June at $31 per share. The stock now trades around $181, implying a $44 billion market cap—a 6x gain that reflects strong investor optimism about stablecoins becoming embedded in financial and commercial infrastructure. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant and others project the $250 billion stablecoin market could exceed $2 trillion in the coming years. USDC holds a 20% market share, and with Circle currently generating $600 million in EBITDA, one could envision 10x profit growth as the market expands and its revenue-sharing agreement with Coinbase improves. In our view, CRCL’s rally underscores bullish expectations for stablecoins and broader digital asset integration into legacy financial systems.

Crypto treasury companies surge – Public market access to digital assets broadens 

The number and scope of crypto treasury companies grew significantly in Q2, expanding beyond niche Bitcoin exposure into multi-asset, multi-chain strategies. As of early 2025, 64 public companies held BTC; that number has since surged to 151, with cumulative holdings topping 800,000 BTC—more than double year-ago levels. Inspired by Strategy’s (MSTR) leveraged model and supported by clearer regulatory and accounting frameworks, companies like GameStop (GME), Metaplanet (3350 TYO), The Blockchain Group (ALTBG), and Trump Media (DJT) are raising capital to add BTC to their balance sheets. Meanwhile, SharpLink Gaming (SBET) is building a $425 million ETH treasury, Upexi (UPXI), Janover and SOL Strategies (CYCRF) are accumulating Solana, and Build & Buy Corp (BGSX) is launching a BNB-focused treasury strategy. We note this growing trend is turning public companies into diversified digital asset vehicles, offering investors increasingly broad exposure to the crypto ecosystem through traditional equity markets.

JP Morgan expands crypto offerings  – First major US bank to use a public blockchain

JPMorgan, the world’s largest bank, has launched a pilot for JPMD, a tokenized version of US dollar deposits held at the bank. Available initially to institutional clients, JPMD enables instant, low-cost, 24/7 transfers on Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum-based layer 2 blockchain. Designed for treasury management, settlement and collateral use, and cross-border B2B flows, JPMD combines the regulatory oversight of traditional banking with the programmability and speed of blockchain infrastructure. Unlike stablecoins issued by non-banks, JPMD is fully backed by demand deposits at JPMorgan and operates under US banking regulation, including deposit insurance and reserve requirements. It builds on JPMorgan’s existing Kinexsys digital payments network that settles more than $2 billion in daily transactions on a private JP Morgan blockchain. We think this marks a major step toward bridging legacy finance with on-chain systems—with JPMorgan the first U.S. bank to issue a compliant digital asset on a public blockchain.

Chart of the Month – We Are Still Early, But Growing…

Arena Digital Capital Partners is a liquid evergreen fund open to monthly subscriptions. We are always happy to discuss further with you or investors you think may have an interest in the sector. Please reach out to Bill Cline at williamc@arenadigital.capital.

Sincerely,

The Arena Digital Capital Management Team

Michael Schwartz, Michael Prober & William Cline

www.arenadigital.capital

Arena Digital Capital Management was founded in January 2022 by three experienced traditional finance hedge fund professionals who have been deploying personal capital in the digital asset ecosystem since 2018. The team has managed billions of dollars of capital for high net worth individuals, family offices, and institutions ranging from pension plans and endowments to sovereign wealth funds. We have worked closely with institutional consultants, RIAs, and other advisors in serving their clients.

In May 2022 we launched Arena Digital Capital Partners, with the goal of providing a multi-strategy investment vehicle to access the digital asset ecosystem. Our mandate is to offer broad exposure across the growing digital asset and blockchain sector with an appropriate level of diversification, professional oversight, and manager selection. Our collection of skill sets and our history in the business allows us to understand, assess, and engage with the practitioners of this nascent asset class with a level of diligence required to be responsible stewards of capital. We are happy to periodically share our observations with you.

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