This Year’s Biggest Fund Flop? CoinShares’ Bitcoin Mining ETF

CoinShares’ Bitcoin Mining ETF Struggles, Down 43% in 2025 Amid Industry Pressures

CoinShares’ Valkyrie Bitcoin Mining ETF (WGMI) has emerged as the year’s poorest performer in the ETF world, tumbling 43% year-to-date, according to Bloomberg’s ETF specialist Eric Balchunas.

The fund, designed to track the performance of publicly traded bitcoin miners, has been dragged down by sharp declines in nearly all of its major holdings. Leading the pack is IREN, which makes up 15% of the ETF and is down 42%. Core Scientific (CORZ), with a 14% allocation, has lost 48%, and Cipher Mining (CIFR), holding 9.6%, has plunged 52%. Even technology giant NVIDIA, representing the sixth-largest holding, has dropped over 20%.

WGMI invests in companies that generate at least half of their income from bitcoin mining or supporting infrastructure, including chipmakers and software providers. The fund holds 21 assets in total and currently manages around $147.2 million.

The struggles reflect the broader headwinds facing the mining sector. Bitcoin’s network hash rate remains elevated near all-time highs—now around 832 EH/s—while transaction fees remain low, further reducing profitability. Miners are battling tougher conditions as mining difficulty hovers at record levels, increasing the cost and complexity of mining new BTC.

Meanwhile, ETFs focused on precious metals are having a banner year. Several gold-related ETFs are topping performance charts, with one fund—the DAXglobal Gold Miners ETF—up 38% so far in 2025.

WGMI’s sharp decline underscores the challenges faced by mining firms in a tightening, competitive, and high-cost environment.