Your Morning Briefing is crafted by Tyler Warner. The thoughts and viewpoints shared here are solely his and don’t represent Decrypt’s official stance. Get the Morning Minute delivered to your inbox; subscribe on Substack.
Greetings!
Here are today’s leading stories:
- Most major cryptocurrencies are showing gains, with SOL performing best; Bitcoin reaches $112,000.
- Forward Industries reveals a $1.65 billion SOL data analytics transaction supported by Galaxy, Multicoin, and Jump.
- BMNR reports holding $2.069 million in ETH, alongside their initial $20 million “Moonshot” investment in WLD data.
- Shares of HOOD experienced a 9% jump in pre-market trading following its inclusion in the S&P 500, while MSTR was excluded.
- Hyperliquid achieves a new all-time high following the announcement of their USDH stablecoin.
📈 Robinhood Joins the S&P 500; MicroStrategy Overlooked
Friday marked a pivotal moment for entities entering the prestigious S&P 500 index.
However, a prominent player within the crypto realm was once again omitted.
📌 The Rundown
S&P Dow Jones Indices announced that Robinhood (HOOD) will be integrated into the S&P 500 during the next quarterly adjustment, taking the place of a company exiting the index.
Upon the announcement, HOOD’s stock price immediately saw a 7% surge.
Conversely, MicroStrategy (MSTR), despite meeting all eligibility benchmarks, was not selected this round.
- HOOD’s Eligibility: Its scale, accessible liquidity, and a more diversified approach to fintech (encompassing brokerage, options, cash, cards, and crypto) make it an ideal choice for an index focused on operational companies.
- MSTR’s Omission: Simply fulfilling the basic criteria doesn’t guarantee inclusion; the selection committee exercises its discretion. MSTR still appears more as a stand-in for Bitcoin rather than a varied operational entity, needing further validation to prove its worth as a legitimate business.
MSTR’s recent market behavior hasn’t helped its cause, with a 16% decrease this month compared to Bitcoin’s mere 3% drop.
🗣️ What’s Being Said
“Robinhood joining the respected S&P 500 Index is a major accomplishment. I’ve told our team that we won’t pause to celebrate; instead, we’ll remain laser-focused on creating outstanding products for our users,” – Vlad Tenev, CEO of Robinhood.
“Did you know that AppLovin and Robinhood were both denied entry into the S&P 500 last quarter despite meeting all the necessary conditions? They were both declined in June but got in today on their second try. Same happened with Uber and Tesla. Be patient. $MSTR will get there,” – Angarlo, X user.
🧠 Why This Matters
Firstly, the allure of joining the S&P for companies and their shareholders is obvious: substantial rebalancing and consistent capital inflows.
Being listed in the S&P almost guarantees a rise in stock price in the near future (unless countered by broader economic issues).
Therefore, getting selected is a significant advantage.
HOOD’s selection over MSTR indicates the committee’s inclination towards platforms that offer wide-ranging exposure rather than simple asset proxies.
Robinhood’s inclusion celebrates a mature, customer-centric fintech firm that integrates crypto, thereby bringing an additional crypto-related income stream into America’s most monitored benchmark without depending on a single cryptocurrency.
In contrast, MicroStrategy’s exclusion implies the S&P still prioritizes operational cash flows and diversification when admitting members.
For investors, the message is clear: if you want crypto exposure within the index, develop a viable business model utilizing it, rather than merely holding assets.
🌎 Crypto and Meme Overview
Some notable Crypto and Web3 stories that grabbed my attention:
- Most major cryptocurrencies are up, with SOL leading; BTC up 0.5% at $111,800, ETH steady at $4,300, XRP up 4% at $2.94, and SOL up 5% at $214.
- MYX (+235%), WLD (+17%), PENGU (+12%), and SPX (+12%) experienced the largest gains.
- ETH ETFs saw one of their largest outflow days on record, with net outflows totaling $444 million.
- Robinhood was added to the S&P 500 on Friday, while Strategy was left out.
- The Senate Banking Committee finalized an updated market-structure bill draft, aiming for consideration in late September.
- Chainlink’s CEO stated that tokenization is gaining momentum after meeting with SEC Chair Atkins, highlighting the policy focus on on-chain assets.
- The SEC and CFTC are considering 24/7 financial markets to align with the continuous trading of crypto.
Corporate Treasuries
Memes
- Memecoins are largely up today; DOGE +7%, Shiba +3%, PEPE +3%, PENGU +13%, BONK +7%, TRUMP +1%, SPX +12%, and FARTCOIN +8%.
- IRYNA surged 1,700% to $7M, leading on-chain movers; 67 (+28%) and CARS (+30%) were other noteworthy gainers.
💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Updates
Here’s a summary of significant token, protocol, and airdrop news from the day:
🤖 AI x Crypto
Updates from the AI sector within crypto:
- Overall market capitalization increased by 2% to $13.2B, with most top performers showing gains.
- FARTCOIN (+8%), VIRTUAL (+3%), TIBBIR (-4%), aixbt (+1%), & ai16z (+1%).
- BUZZ (+37%) and nuit (+13%) saw the largest gains.
🚚 NFT Developments
Here’s a roundup of other notable headlines in the NFT space:
- ETH NFT leaders showed mixed performance; Punks steady at 48.9 ETH, Pudgy up 3% at 10.25, BAYC down 1% at 9 ETH.
- Hytopia Worlds, up 70%, were a prominent top mover.
- Bitcoin NFT leaders were mostly flat or down for the week.
- Abstract NFTs were largely up for the week, led by Gigaverse ROMs (+30%) and OCH Heroes (+30%).
- A new PunkStrategy token from Rhynotic (PNKSTR) has already accumulated 39.9 ETH in fees after reaching a $2.5M market cap, and is just 9 ETH away from purchasing a Punk (which it will then relist at 1.2x the floor).
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