MicroStrategy Is the Altcoin of TradFi — But This Stock Is the True Degen Play | by Chip Mahoney | The Capital | Mar, 2025
If you’re a TradFi investor looking for exposure to crypto without holding actual tokens, you’ve likely heard of MicroStrategy (MSTR). Bitwise recently labeled MSTR as “essentially the altcoin of TradFi” — and they’re not wrong. With nearly 500,000 BTC on its balance sheet, MSTR trades more like a high-beta Bitcoin ETF than a software company.
But if MSTR is TradFi’s altcoin, what’s the true degen play?
Coinbase (COIN) isn’t just an exchange — it’s an on-chain juggernaut. Its Ethereum Layer 2, Base, has exploded in TVL and usage, rivaling networks that do have native tokens. But here’s the kicker: Base has no token.
That means TradFi investors can’t buy BASE, but they can buy COIN. If Base continues its meteoric rise, Coinbase’s revenue and valuation could soar alongside it, making COIN a TradFi proxy for one of crypto’s fastest-growing ecosystems.
MicroStrategy is a Bitcoin proxy
- MSTR’s stock moves almost in sync with BTC.
- Buying MSTR is like buying Bitcoin with leverage.
Coinbase is an on-chain proxy
- COIN provides indirect exposure to Base.
