Quick Take
- Crypto ETF issuer Grayscale has released an exchange-traded product designed to provide exposure to the Bitcoin mining industry by investing in companies that derive revenue from mining Bitcoin, and mining-related hardware, software, and services.
- The Grayscale Bitcoin Miners ETF, listed on the NYSE Orca under the MNRS ticker, invests in companies listed on the Indxx Bitcoin Miner Index, which tracks the market performance of the world’s leading Bitcoin mining firms.
- MNRS’s composition includes Marathon Digital Holdings, Core Scientific, Riot Platforms, CleanSpark, Iris Energy, Hut8, Northern Data, Cipher Mining, Applied Digital, and Terawulf.
- Bitcoin mining difficulty was recently adjusted, reducing by 2.12% from 110.45 trillion to 108.11 trillion, breaking a consecutive cycle of increases since September 2024. U.S. President Donald Trump has endorsed the sector and wants the country to be a global leader in Bitcoin hashrate and production.
Digital asset manager Grayscale Investments announced on January 30 that it has launched the Grayscale Bitcoin Miners ETF (MNRS), a crypto exchange-traded fund focused on the Bitcoin mining sector.
Grayscale Bitcoin Miners ETF Focused On BTC Mining Firms Begins Trading On NYSE
The Grayscale Bitcoin Miners ETF is designed to provide investors with exposure to Bitcoin mining by tracking the market performance of leading Bitcoin mining companies. The exchange-traded product will trade under the MNRS ticker on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
MNRS specifically invests in companies listed on the Indxx Bitcoin Miner Index, which is a proprietary index measuring the performance of global Bitcoin mining firms that generate most of their revenue from BTC mining and mining-related hardware, software, services, and other projects.
By investing in mining firms rather than directly in digital assets, the ETF offers an alternative to investors looking for exposure to the Bitcoin ecosystem without directly holding the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency. Moreover, the industry is critical to the integrity of the $2 trillion Bitcoin market.
David LaValle, the global head of ETFs at Grayscale, further highlighted the significance of the ETF by stating that it offers shareholders “targeted exposure” to Bitcoin miners and the global Bitcoin mining industry in a “passively managed, rules-based, and index-tracked fund designed to evolve with the industry”.
Marathon, Core Scientific, And Riot Hold Largest Allocation In Grayscale’s Bitcoin Miners ETF
The Grayscale Bitcoin Miners ETF’s composition includes leading Bitcoin miners, with Marathon Digital (16.66%), Riot Platforms (11.92%), and Core Scientific (9.2%) holding the largest allocation. Other notable firms include CleanSpark (4.79%), Iris Energy (4.37%), and Hut8 (4.2%), and companies such as Northern Data, Cipher Mining, Applied Digital, and Terawulf with smaller allocations that range between 3.59% and 4.17%.
In a press release, Grayscale clarified that the fund will not directly invest in Bitcoin (BTC), other crypto assets, or initial coin offerings (ICO). However, the ETF may have indirect exposure to mineable cryptocurrencies, such as Litecoin (LTC), through companies that integrate the assets into their operations.
The MNRS ETF will be distributed by Foreside Fund Services LLC, while Grayscale Advisors LLC will serve as its advisor.
Mainstream adoption of crypto assets and blockchain protocols by institutional investors and nation-states has enhanced the growth of crypto-focused companies. As of January 31, global Bitcoin miners have a combined market cap of about $32 billion.
Marathon Digital Holdings, with a valuation of about $5.25 billion, is the world’s largest Bitcoin miner, followed by Riot Blockchain and Core Scientific with a valuation of about $3.85 billion and $3.2 billion respectively. UAE-based Phoenix Group is an industry leader in the Middle East region with a total valuation of $2 billion, while Singapore-based Bitdeer is the largest Bitcoin mining firm in Asia with a net valuation of about $3.3 billion.
President Donald Trump Wants To Amp Up Bitcoin Mining In The U.S
Grayscale’s latest product comes following growing interest in Bitcoin mining, spearheaded by U.S. President Donald Trump, who advocated for increasing domestic production of Bitcoin during his election campaign. His team recently met with representatives from Marathon Digital, Riot Platforms, and Core Scientific, to explore ways to boost mining operations in the country to enhance energy security and create jobs.
On January 20, a day before assuming office, Trump’s team met with MicroStrategy chairman Michael Saylor and key executives from Marathon to discuss potential movement in Bitcoin-related policy. While the specifics of the discussions remain private, observers speculate it to have revolved around advancing Bitcoin mining in the U.S.
MicroStrategy and Marathon hold significant reserves of Bitcoin and are highly influential within the industry. The business intelligence-turned-Bitcoin development firm currently holds over 450,000 BTC ($47.1 billion), while the Bitcoin miner holds approximately 44,893 BTC ($4.6 billion).
Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Drops For The First Time Since September 2024
Meanwhile, the latest data from CloverPool shows that Bitcoin mining difficulty has decreased for the first time since September 2024, falling by 2.12% at block height 880,992 on January 27, breaking a streak of consistent increases. This adjustment has reduced the difficulty of mining blocks on the network from the previous record of 1 in 110.45 trillion to 108.11 trillion.
Bitcoin’s mining difficulty is adjusted once every two weeks, or after 2,016 blocks mined. The mechanism has been encoded to ensure the blockchain’s stability and a block discovery time of 10 minutes, regardless of the fluctuations in miner activity.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $104,555 – down 0.75% in the last 24 hours.