Trump-Xi Meeting, SEC Tokenization Rule Seen as Near-Term Catalysts for Crypto Stocks, B. Riley Says

• B. Riley analyst Fedor Shabalin said the recent crypto rally appeared driven primarily by liquidity and sentiment rather than fundamental changes.
• The analyst cited President Donald Trump’s upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and the SEC’s new framework for tokenized stocks as key near-term catalysts.
• The analyst also expects 24/7 token trading could lead to catch-up moves in crypto-linked equities.

B. Riley on Tuesday raised its price targets on six crypto-linked stocks, pointing to President Donald Trump’s upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and the SEC’s new framework for tokenized stocks as key near-term catalysts for the sector.

The firm raised its targets on SharpLink Gaming (SBET), Nakamoto (NAKA), Strategy (MSTR), Forward Industries (FWDI), Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) and Strive (ASST), while maintaining ‘Buy’ ratings on all six stocks.

Crypto Equities Lag Bitcoin Rally

The target changes come after a sharp weekend rally in cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin (BTC) climbed above $86,000 on Tuesday morning, while gains in crypto equities lagged behind.

In a note to investors cited by TheFly, B. Riley analyst Fedor Shabalin said the rally appeared primarily driven by liquidity and sentiment rather than fundamental changes. He also pointed to the potential for 24/7 token trading to drive catch-up moves in crypto-linked equities.

The analyst added that the Thursday meeting between Trump and Xi could be a key near-term catalyst for the tokenization theme. The firm also pointed to the SEC’s new five-year conditional exemption for certain on-chain tokenized stock trading.

B. Riley Raises Crypto Stock Price Targets

SBET stock rose 1.3% in morning trade, implying an over 37% upside to B. Riley’s $14 price target – the highest among the cohort. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the Ethereum (ETH) treasury improved to ‘bullish’ from ‘neutral’ territory over the past day.

Fellow Ethereum treasury BMNR’s stock, meanwhile, edged 0.6% lower in morning trade. Its price target of $34 implies an upside of around 20% from current levels. Retail sentiment around the Tom Lee-backed enterprise trended in ‘bullish’ territory over the past day.

NAKA stock and FWDI stock also edged lower, by around 0.7% each. While NAKA saw retail sentiment improve to ‘neutral’ from ‘bearish’ territory over the past day, sentiment around FWDI drifted lower to ‘neutral’ from ‘bullish’ territory. 

B. Riley’s new price target of $13 on NAKA implies 29.9% upside, while the price target of $11 on FWDI implies an upside of around 35%.

MSTR stock, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, rose 0.76%, while ASST stock, which also operates a Bitcoin treasury strategy, traded largely flat in morning trade. B. Riley's price target of $195 on MSTR implies an upside of around 15% from current levels, while its price of $33 on ASST implies an upside of around 9%. 

Read also: SOFI Stock Rises After $25B Card Program Moves To Stablecoin Settlement On Mastercard Network

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