Bitcoin, crypto to drive Nasdaq 100 gains instead of Big Tech argument

The tech-driven Nasdaq 100 may be undergoing a historic shift as it turns 40 this week.

According to Strategas Securities’ Todd Sohn, cryptocurrency companies could fuel the next wave of gains.

“Bitcoin is to crypto as the QQQ … is to technology type stocks,” the firm’s exchange-traded fund and technical strategist told CNBC’s “ETF Edge” this week. “Bitcoin is going to be the biggest. The Qs will be the biggest.”

As of Thursday’s close, the Nasdaq 100 is up 17,106% since its Jan. 31,1985, inception. President Donald Trump’s election helped fuel bitcoin record highs due to high hopes on deregulation. The cryptocurrency is trading around the $104,000 level.

Sohn thinks a buildout of the crypto universe is already taking shape.

“I think that’s already happening based on some of the recent filings we’ve seen,” he said.

Sohn also dives into the popularity of the crypto options business.

“With crypto, you can now build out a risk management,” said Sohn. “Say … I want to gain some upside, but I would like income. So, I’m going to buy a covered call crypto ETF … just to limit any volatility and keep the weekly or monthly income streams coming. So, this is all sort of important stuff that’s going to keep happening via [the] Nasdaq.”

The crypto ETF market has been booming. According to FactSet, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), which was launched on Jan. 5, 2024, and trades on the Nasdaq, has amassed more than $58 billion in assets as of Tuesday.

Nasdaq President Nelson Griggs sees regulatory clarity as a key factor in crypto’s future growth.

“A whole sector gets developed around something like digital crypto. And now potentially having more clarity on the rules of what it actually is going to be,” Griggs said in the same interview.