Coinbase Joins S&P 500—These Cryptos Could Ride the Institutional Wave

Wall Street’s latest crypto endorsement drops as Coinbase secures its S&P 500 spot—just in time for another ’we told you so’ from the diamond-hands crowd. Here’s what’s pumping beyond the obvious BTC/ETH plays:

Layer 2 tokens (MATIC, ARB): The ’plumbing’ of Ethereum’s scaling push now looks like a leveraged bet on institutional adoption. Coinbase’s S&P inclusion signals deeper crypto infrastructure demand—these projects actually turn a profit (unlike most DeFi vaporware).

Exchange tokens (BNB, FTT): CEX renaissance incoming. Every TradFi boomer buying COIN shares needs an on-ramp—and these liquidity monsters are already priced for extinction. Perfect contrarian play.

Bonus cynicism: Watch Goldman Sachs launch a ’Coinbase Competitor Index’ in 3...2...1. Spoiler—it’ll underperform holding the actual assets.

The news of Coinbase’s entry into the S&P 500, scheduled for May 19th, is turning heads as it is set to become the first crypto firm to be included in the iconic index, underscoring the sector’s growing influence.

As this milestone paves the way for increased institutional investments and broader mainstream acceptance of crypto, several cryptocurrencies could be set to benefit with big price boosts. 

Coinbase Breaks Into S&P 500 Amid a Market-Wide Crypto Rally

Launched in 2012 and debuting on the public market in 2021 under the ticker symbol “COIN,” Coinbase has gone through a turbulent journey to become one of the leading representatives of the crypto industry.

Just months ago, Coinbase was locked in a high-profile legal battle with the SEC, which described it as an unregistered broker and exchange, negatively impacting its stock and the broader sentiment surrounding it.

However, the election of President Trump’s pro-crypto administration in November was the beginning of a dramatic shift, which immediately saw Coinbase’s shares surge by 31%. 

Following the election and the changes in the SEC’s leadership, the SEC dropped its case against Coinbase in late February. Now, Coinbase is experiencing the second-largest surge since the US Election Day in 2024, gaining nearly 24% after its S&P 500 inclusion announcement.

Thank you to everyone who made it possible for a crypto company to join the S&P 500 for the first time in history.

Joining the S&P 500 as a crypto firm means passive funds and ETFs tracking the index will need to hold Coinbase shares, further integrating the crypto sector with traditional financial markets, which could amplify volatility across the market.

This milestone coincides with a massive boom in the crypto sector that saw it reach a market cap of $3.37 trillion on May 14th, which could result in a new market-wide rally led by high-potential tokens.

Best Crypto to Buy

Let’s look at 3 tokens that could be among the biggest winners from this Coinbase development. 

Best Wallet Token (BEST)

As bullish sentiment surrounds the crypto sector, an influx of retail investors is likely to occur, and Best Wallet seems well-positioned to take advantage of that with its user-friendly crypto wallet apps.

Boasting over 250,000 monthly users, Best Wallet is one of the fastest-growing Web3 non-custodial wallets, and it is now launching its native token, Best Wallet Token, which will provide its holders with numerous benefits.

From facilitating lower transaction costs while using its existing and upcoming features to unlocking higher staking rewards via its upcoming staking aggregator, BEST is an asset that’s designed to be held, and investors can currently purchase it at a discount.

Presale expert ClayBro, impressed by Best Wallet Token’s early adoption rates, believes BEST will make an explosive debut this year, advising his audience to start accumulating the token while the presale is still live.

The expert highlighted its upcoming crypto debit card, which will charge no-to-low transaction fees for BEST holders, as an exciting upcoming addition to the ecosystem. 

Plus, he pointed out that those holding Best Wallet Token will enjoy exclusive “Stage 0” access to emerging presales, which could result in explosive gains, making BEST an attractive purchase at its current per-token price of $0.025025.

Bittensor (TAO)

As the popularity of AI pushes the AI crypto sector upward, Bittensor stands out as a platform that encourages a decentralized approach to the technology.

Seeking to challenge traditional AI development that’s dominated by large tech companies, Bittensor allows users to train and monetize AI models built via an open, global network.

The TAO token is central to its ecosystem, as it can be earned by users providing valuable AI outputs or contributing computational resources. Plus, it enables staking and allows holders to participate in governance.

The recent market-wide rally saw Bittensor’s price skyrocket from $245.88 in mid-April to $457.19 on May 14th, representing an 86.17% surge over the 30 days, and technical analyst Atomz expects it to continue growing over the next few weeks.

The analyst highlighted that TAO managed to break through and consolidate above the resistance it faced at the $432 level, expecting it to retest its support before the next leg up. The slight correction wouldn’t take TAO below its 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) of $307.77, which often indicates that a token has strong upward potential in the short term.

Atomz placed a target above the $560 mark for the token, which he is confident TAO will reach this summer.

Quant (QNT)

QNT is the utility token of Quant, which provides the infrastructure needed for a diverse network of blockchains to communicate and exchange data. Powering Quant’s integrated marketplace, QNT is required for accessing its services, including transactions, applications, or licensing the marketplace provides.

As the crypto market enjoys increasing popularity following the recent bullish developments, Quant’s goal of enabling interoperability has positioned QNT for massive gains, with the token achieving a 7.66% growth over the past seven days.

Fueled by a recent Robinhood listing that allows European customers to trade QNT on its platform, QNT’s technical indicators also suggest the token is prepared for additional gains throughout 2025.

Chart analyst 21st Century Crypto believes QNT has the potential to more than 10x from its current price of $99.17, highlighting its breakout from a long-term consolidation pattern as a bullish indicator.

Plus, QNT’s current price is well above its 50-day SMA of $75.70 and 200-day SMA of $83.87, while its Relative Strength Index (RSI) shows the token is trending upward but not yet overbought.

Expecting a strong rally past the $200 mark before July, the analyst believes QNT can more than 2x before the next healthy pullback occurs, making this an excellent buying opportunity.