Three names that got hammered during the 2022 downturn just made their way into the S&P 500—and it tells you something interesting about how markets cycle.

Coinbase took the hardest hit when crypto sentiment collapsed. Robinhood got crushed alongside retail investors fleeing markets. Carvana? The auto e-commerce play got decimated when rates spiked. All three were basically left for dead.

Yet here we are in 2025. Institutional investors are circling back. The S&P 500 committee added them to the index—a signal that these businesses have proven they can survive and adapt. For Coinbase specifically, it's a validation of crypto's place in institutional portfolios. The trading platform's inclusion suggests the narrative around digital assets has shifted from "speculative bubble" to "legitimate market infrastructure."

What's wild is that this isn't just a recovery story. It's proof that timing markets matters less than positioning in businesses that matter. Whether it's a crypto exchange navigating regulatory uncertainty or a fintech platform rebuilding user trust—the companies that made it through the fire earned their seat at the table.