SPY ETF News, 9/26/2025: TradFi’s Flagship Fund Faces Digital Disruption

Wall Street's favorite tracker faces existential questions as blockchain alternatives gain traction.

Legacy Systems Under Pressure

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust continues drawing institutional flows while retail investors increasingly question traditional market structures. Yesterday's trading volume suggests traditional finance maintains its grip—for now.

Digital Alternatives Emerging

Tokenized index funds and decentralized protocols offer 24/7 trading without Wall Street intermediaries. These platforms slash fees that have padded financial middlemen's pockets for decades.

Regulatory Hurdles Remain

While the SEC cautiously approves Bitcoin ETFs, the real innovation happens offshore where DeFi protocols replicate traditional market exposure without the paperwork. Compliance costs keep mainstream adoption at bay—conveniently protecting established players.

The SPY ETF isn't disappearing tomorrow, but the writing's on the blockchain. Traditional finance's 'innovation' now amounts to charging lower fees than they did in 2010—quite the revolutionary pace.

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According to TipRanks’ unique ETF analyst consensus, which is based on a weighted average of analyst ratings on its holdings, SPY is a Moderate Buy. The Street’s average price target of $737.34 for the SPY ETF implies an upside potential of about 11.5%.  

Currently, SPY’s five holdings with the highest upside potential are Loews (L), Moderna (MRNA), The Trade Desk (TTD), Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), and CarMax (KMX).

Meanwhile, its five holdings with the greatest downside potential are Paramount Skydance (PSKY), Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), Intel (INTC), Tesla (TSLA), and Garmin (GRMN).

CarMax’s upside potential increased after the stock dropped 24% in the past five days due to weak fiscal Q2 results, creating more room for a rebound if performance improves.

Revealingly, SPY’s ETF Smart Score is eight, implying that this ETF is likely to outperform the broader market.