Where Bulls, Bears and Bitcoin Collide: The $3 Trillion Sector Wall Street Can’t Ignore

Intellistake Technologies Corp
Editorial
10 min read
Digital Assets Have Quietly Become Mainstream. IntelliStake (CSE: ISTK) Bridges Traditional Finance and the Digital-Asset Economy.

The Collision Is Happening Right Now

Disseminated on behalf of Intellistake Technologies Corp.

Something unfamiliar is unfolding in financial markets, and most traditional investors haven't fully grasped its magnitude yet.

The daily trading volume in digital assets has reached $266 billion—that's over 50%of the entire U.S. stock market's daily volume of approximately $478 billion1.

Think about that for a moment. We're witnessing a parallel financial universe that's operating at nearly half the scale of traditional equity markets.
And at the heart of it are two revolutionary industries, digital assets and artificial intelligence. They are converging into an unprecedented technological shift, comparable in magnitude to the rise of the internet, the emergence of social media, and the dominance of cloud computing2.

Although most investors haven't fully realized the scope yet, major institutions and influential names are quietly positioning themselves to capitalize on this pivotal transformation, potentially defining the financial landscape for decades to come.

The institutional adoption isn't just theoretical anymore.

MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) now holds approximately 581,000 Bitcoin worth over $63 billion as of June 2025. What's particularly striking about MicroStrategy's approach is how it's rewarded shareholders who believed in the strategy early.

Since the company began its Bitcoin purchasing program, MSTR stock has surged over 2,000%—dramatically outperforming Bitcoin itself, which has risen approximately 1,400% over the same period.

This means investors who bought MicroStrategy stock when the Bitcoin strategy launched have seen better returns than those who simply held Bitcoin directly.
Figure 1 - Bitcoin Vs MicroStrategy
But these aren't isolated cases.
  • SBET (NASDAQ:SBET)recently acquired $463 million worth of Ethereum3.
  • Metaplanet (OTC:MTPLF)recently completed a $515 million Bitcoin fundraising round4.
  • GSTechnologies (LSE:GST)saw its stock jump 17% following crypto-related announcements5.
  • Trident (NASDAQ:TDTH)allocated $500 million to XRP6.
The pattern is clear—institutional money is flowing into digital assets at an unprecedented pace.

These companies are provided as examples of the significant interest in digital assets; however, their performance is not comparable to that of Intellistake and investors should not assume that similar performance will occur at Intellistake. There has been significant volatility in digital assets and their value can decline rapidly, which in turn would lead to a decline in the stock price of companies holding digitial assets.

Here is the reality unfolding beneath the headlines:
Figure 2 - Bitcoin Vs Tesla Trading Volume

Bitcoin vs. Tesla

●    On January 20, 2025, Bitcoin traded $130 billion in a single day—smashing the all-time record of $82 billion set by Elon Musk’s Tesla. Today, Bitcoin still moves about $60 billion daily versus Tesla’s $32 billion7,8.

Digital U.S. Dollar Tokens vs. Payments Networks

●    Dollar-pegged tokens (known as stablecoins) now transfer $521 billion each week—surpassing the combined volumes of Visa and Mastercard9.

AI Investment vs. Traditional Tech Funding

●    AI funding reached a staggering $100 billion in 2024, an 80% leap from 2023, reflecting accelerated institutional interest in the centralized and decentralized technologies driving these new financial infrastructures10.

Major players aren’t sitting on the sidelines.
President Donald Trump holds nearly half of his $900 million liquid assets in digital currencies11, openly stating:
"If crypto is going to define the future, I want it mined, minted, and made in the USA.”(Donald Trump, Bitcoin 2024 Conference, Nashville)12
Meanwhile, Tesla helmed by Elon Musk, holds $1.25 billion in Bitcoin as of now13.

As mentioned, Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy MSTR continues its accumulation. As of June 23, 2025 MicroStrategy holds 592,345 BTC14, which—as I write this—is currently worth $63,681,789,59415. (25th Jun 2025)
Figure 3 - MicroStrategy’s Market Cap Vs Bitcoin Holdings

A Small-Cap success Story: SBET

New issuers are fueling this revolution every day. Take Sharplink Gaming Inc. (“SBET”), a small-cap gaming company that pivoted to a crypto strategy this spring via a $425 million private placement to adopt an Ethereum-treasury model16.

In just three months, SBET’s share price rose from $0.29 to nearly $80—driving its market cap from under $20 million to over $5 billion17.

SBET’s rise demonstrates the immense liquidity now flooding into digital-asset strategies. However, as noted above SBET is provided as an example only and is not comparable to Intellistake.
Figure 4 - Sharplink Gaming Inc. (SBET) MarketAnaylsis

Current Market Statistics

With Cryptocurrency now representing over 50% of global stock trading volume, yet only makes up just around 5% of total global market capitalization—an extraordinary disparity suggesting immense potential growth18.

Cryptocurrencies daily trading volume on $236bn1 has surpassed global gold’s daily volume of $232bn19, humanity’s oldest and most trusted store of value. Digital lending platforms quietly manage around $54 billion in assets, comparable to a sizable mutual fund20—yet they operate continuously, free from traditional banking hours or geographical constraints.
Figure 5 - Digital Assets Vs Gold Daily TradingVolume
Today, over 560 million people worldwide—roughly 7% of the global population—already own digital assets21. Most traditional investors remain comfortably unaware, potentially missing out on an unprecedented financial transformation occurring quietly beneath their notice.

AI‑focused crypto tokens now exceed $27 billion in total market cap22—an entire market in itself. In fact, this market cap now surpasses the valuations of major publicly listed companies such as United Airlines (NYSE: UAL) at ~$25.8B, Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD) at~$26.9B, and even Reddit (NYSE: RDDT) at ~$25.9B23.
Figure 6 - AI-Focused Digital Assets SurpassingMajor Listed Companies
Clearly, influential investors and institutions have recognized the potential magnitude of this collision between AI and digital assets. Perhaps it begs the question; why are everyday investors not aware too?

What's Keeping Regular Investors Out & How Intellistake (CSE:ISTK) Could Help Traditional Speculators Participate

For many investors, the technical demands of crypto still pose a steep learning curve. Managing crypto wallets, securing private keys, understanding staking mechanisms—it's like asking someone to become their own bank overnight.

This is where companies like Intellistake (CSE:ISTK) play a role. As a publicly traded company, Intellistake intends to offer exposure into the digital asset space through a familiar mechanism—purchasing shares through their regular brokerage account. No wallets, no keys, no technical complexity24. I

ntellistake positions to operate through three main strategies being:
First, Intellistake provides diversified exposure to leading digital assets— with a focus on decentralized AI tokens .Think of this as a curated approach to crypto investing, managed by professionals who understand the space.

Second, Intellistake intends to operate validator nodes and staking infrastructure—the plumbing of the digital-asset world, like highway toll booths that blockchains such as Ethereum and XRP need to process transactions. Every transaction generates a fee—think of charging each car a small toll—creating a revenue stream that’s less dependent on token price appreciation. In digital-asset networks, that ongoing fee-based income is simply how networks generate yield—delivering returns much like interest or dividends in traditional finance. They have just completed a financing and in process of acquiring validator hardware and setting up operations.

Third, Intellistake is developing Enterprise AI Software-as-a-Service solutions, with the intention that once customers are secured it will provide recurring subscription-based revenue from software that helps large businesses optimize their operations. This will diversify the revenue beyond pure digital asset exposure25.

Companies like SBET, which invested $435million in Ethereum, depend indirectly on this type of infrastructure to execute their digital asset strategies effectively. And in breaking news, they have also now declared their intention to buy $1 Billion worth of Ethereum26.Intellistake does not have the same financial resources as SBET but it is focused on growth and provides an earlier stage entry opportunity.

What Makes Intellistake (CSE:ISTK) Different?

The appeal lies in simplicity and diversification.

Investors could gain crypto exposure through a standard brokerage purchase, eliminating the technical barriers that keep many traditional investors away. Rather than betting everything on cryptocurrency price appreciation, Intellistake intends to generate revenue from multiple streams—portfolio management, infrastructure services, and enterprise software.

Unlike AI stocks such as NVIDIA—which depend heavily on single supply chains and manufacturing hubs27—or Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs that provide broad, generalized crypto exposure, Intellistake focuses on AI infrastructure distributed across multiple independent locations globally and the intersection of blockchain and AI. This distributed approach significantly reduces risks associated with relying on a single provider, distribution or location, protecting users from disruptions such as geopolitical tensions, supply chain failure or technology outages—as seen with centralized infrastructure28.

Intellistake will operate with institutional-level security protocols and provide transparent reporting that traditional investors expect. It's compliant with regulatory requirements, removing another layer of complexity that individual crypto investors must navigate.

Tesla shares require no expertise in battery chemistry or autonomous-driving algorithms; similarly, investors need not master digital-wallet setup, key management or blockchain protocols to gain exposure to digital assets.

Is It Time to Pay Attention?

Consider this historical parallel: cryptocurrency markets today resemble foreign exchange markets in 198929.Back then, daily FX volume was a fraction of what crypto achieves now. The institutional infrastructure was limited, regulatory frameworks were unclear, and most investors had no practical way to participate.

Today, FX markets process over $7trillion daily1 and form the backbone of global commerce.
Figure 7 - Crypto Trading Volume with World’sAssets
[Image figures quoted as of 25 Jun 2025 @ 1130am ET1]
The institutional entry into digital assets has been quiet but explosive. While retail investors debate whether Bitcoin is "real money," major corporations are quietly adding it to their balance sheets.

While traditional investors worry about volatility, institutional players are building the infrastructure to support a parallel financial system.

Most investors haven't fully realized what's happening yet. When mainstream awareness catches up to institutional adoption—when digital assets become as commonplace in investment portfolios as international stocks or REITs30—the market potential could be extraordinary.

It is important to note that as with any investment there are risks including that digital assets remain an emerging assets class with government regulation still under development, there has been significant volatility in digital assets and their value can decline rapidly, historical performance of digital assets in not indicative of their future performance and global digital asset demand may not continue to increase due to global financial conditions and other factors.

Companies like Intellistake (CSE:ISTK) represent one way to participate in this evolution through traditional channels. Whether this proves to be the early stages of a fundamental shift in how we think about money and investing, may depend on how successfully companies can bridge the gap between traditional finance and digital assets.

Disclaimer

This report contains "forward-looking information" concerning anticipated developments and events related to the Company that may occur in the future. Forward looking information contained in this report includes, but is not limited to, all statements in respect of market overview herein and any implication the resulting issuer’s growth and development will follow general trends in the market, the operations and business segments of the Company, and timely receipt of all necessary approvals.

In certain cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "expects", "intends", "anticipates" or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "would", or "might" suggesting future outcomes, or other expectations, assumptions, intentions or statements about future events or performance. Forward-looking information contained in this report is based on certain assumptions regarding, among other things, the Company will continue to have access to financing until it achieves profitability; the timely receipt of regulatory approvals; the ability to attract qualified personnel; the success of market initiatives and the ability to grow brand awareness; the ability to distribute Company’s services; and the ability to successfully deploy the new business strategy. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable, they may be incorrect.

Forward looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed by the forward-looking information. Such factors include risks related to general business, economic and social uncertainties; the sufficiency of our cash to meet liquidity needs; legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; the inherent risks involved in the cryptocurrency and general securities markets; the Company may not be able to profitably liquidate its current digital currency inventory, or at all; a decline in digital currency prices may have a significant negative impact on the Company’s operations; the volatility of digital currency prices; the inherent uncertainty of cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses, currency fluctuations; regulatory restrictions, liability, competition, loss of key employees and other related risks and uncertainties; delay or failure to receive regulatory approvals; failure to attract qualified personnel, labour disputes; and the additional risks identified in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company’s filings with applicable Canadian securities regulators.

Although the Company has attempted to identify factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated. Readers should not place undue reliance onforward-looking information. The forward-looking information is made as of the date of this report. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update forward-looking information.

Sources:

1.  http://coincodex.com/trading-volume/
2.  
https://www.wired.com/story/blockchain-open-web-user-data/
3.  
https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/stocks/sbet/press-releases
4.  
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/06/25/metaplanet-raises-515m-blockchain-group-adds-48m-in-bitcoin-treasury-equity-moves
5.  
https://www.proactiveinvestors.com/companies/news/1073587/gstechnologies-shares-jump-17-as-firm-shifts-treasury-strategy-to-bitcoin-1073587.html
6.  
https://cointelegraph.com/news/trident-xrp-treasury-announcement
7.  
https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitcoin/
8.  
https://www.tradingview.com/symbols/NASDAQ-TSLA/
9.  
https://cointelegraph.com/news/stablecoins-beat-visa-mastercard-2024-volume
10.  
https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/global-funding-data-analysis-ai-eoy-2024/
11.  
https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2025/06/05/this-is-how-much-trump-has-made-from-crypto-so-far/
12.  
https://metro.co.uk/2025/03/03/five-crypto-coins-trump-wants-make-part-federal-reserve-22657733/  
13.  
https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/musks-tesla-holds-1-25b-thanks-to-this-asset
14.  
https://bitbo.io/treasuries/microstrategy/
15.  
https://coinmarketcap.com/all/views/all/
16.  
https://www.stockwatch.com/Quote/Detail?U:SBET
17.  https://investors.sharplink.com/sharplink-gaming-announces-425000000-private-placement-to-initiate-ethereum-treasury-strategy/
18.
https://coincodex.com/market-cap/
19.  
https://www.gold.org/goldhub/data/gold-trading-volumes
20.  
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/06/18/crypto-lenders-hold-nearly-60b-of-assets-as-new-wave-of-defi-adoption-sweeps-in-report
21.  
https://www.triple-a.io/cryptocurrency-ownership-data
22.  
https://www.coingecko.com/en/categories/artificial-intelligence
23.
 https://companiesmarketcap.com
24.
 https://www.intellistake.ai/about
25.  
https://www.intellistake.ai/#WHATWEDO
26.  
https://blockchair.com/news/ethereum-treasury-sharplink-gaming-significant-eth-purchase-michael-saylor--4aa3dceceaa4a610
27.  
https://www.gfmreview.com/fintech/nvidia-s-bold-bet-why-the-chip-giant-is-pouring-billions-into-the-us-supply-chain
28.  
https://www.ainvest.com/news/blackouts-spark-interest-decentralized-infrastructure-networks-2506/
29.  
https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/microsites/fxc/files/annualreports/fxcar89.pdf
30.
https://www.reit.com/investing/global-real-estate-investment