The market for crypto and other digital assets is no longer what it was a decade ago. In its early days, it was shaped mostly by the community. Today, it has evolved into a mature environment increasingly adopting strategies once used in traditional stock markets.

Market cap still dominates

Despite this sophistication, most global crypto investors still rely on a single metric — market capitalization. It remains the primary way to assess and rank cryptocurrencies by multiplying the total supply by the current price per coin, offering a quick snapshot of market value.

Institutions shift their view

Institutions have followed the same pattern for years, viewing the crypto space largely through a bitcoin lens. “Historically, institutions saw crypto as simply digital gold and made broader decisions based on market cap. But they are now realizing the space is far more diverse — much like the stock market — with each project offering unique use cases and value propositions,” said Horsley during the Token2049 conference in Singapore.

From size to strategy

This shift marks a move from a size-based view to a more nuanced asset selection strategy, reminiscent of the traditional stock-picking approach. Stock picking focuses on identifying assets with strong fundamentals and growth potential rather than following broad market indices. It’s a fundamentally driven approach — now becoming typical for institutional investors in the crypto asset market.

Changing macro environment

The stock-like investing mindset fits well with today’s macroeconomic landscape. Back in 2020, interest rates hovered near zero and inflation was almost non-existent, fueling an “everything rally” where even obscure altcoins and memecoins surged in value.

Today, rates are high, inflation persists, and only projects with strong fundamentals are likely to thrive — much like analysts selecting individual stocks based on their financial health and long-term potential.

Era of fiscal dominance

Experts such as Mohamed El-Erian and Russel Napier note that the current era of “fiscal dominance” has changed the rules of the game. “We’ve moved into a world where politics will matter more to markets than ever before,” they say.

As the era of free money fades and interest rates normalize, company-specific — or project-specific — fundamentals will once again drive returns. This is the time, they conclude, when “well-equipped, forward-looking active investors can outsmart and outperform their passive peers driving by the rearview mirror.”

Sources:

https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/crypto-investors-now-using-wall-120000167.html

https://progressive-research.com/insights/the-return-of-the-stock-pickers-if-not-now-when/

https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/10/09/investors-are-now-using-wall-street-s-age-old-strategy-to-invest-in-crypto-bitwise-ceo-says