Valkyrie Capital’s Bitcoin Mining ETF focused on renewable energy has been approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and it's set to go live Tuesday on the Nasdaq under the ticker "WGMI"—a crypto community acronym for “We're gonna make it.”
The Valkyrie Bitcoin Mining ETF primarily is focused on companies that use at least 77% renewable energy. According to the application filed at the end of January, 80% of the ETF’s assets are focused on companies that earn at least 50% of their total profits from Bitcoin mining, which requires massive amounts of energy as the network's "miners" compete to solve complex puzzles to earn BTC and help secure the blockchain.
The Valkyrie Bitcoin Mining ETF’s largest holdings are Argo Blockchain, Bitfarms, Cleanspark, Hive Blockchain, and Stronghold Digital Mining.
In a recent interview, Valkyrie Capital CEO Leah Wald said investors have “an increased focus and desire to gain exposure to Bitcoin miners.” Wald also cited the exodus of Bitcoin miners from China to places like upstate New York and Washington state as another reason behind the ETF.
Per the SEC filing, former Guggenheim Partners Managing Director Bill Cannon is Valkyrie’s head of ETF portfolio management, and Steven McClurg—founder of blockchain company Theseus Capital—is Valkyrie’s chief investment officer.
Valkyrie’s Bitcoin Mining ETF is the latest in a wave of ETFs focused on cryptocurrency. Earlier this month, Grayscale announced its “Future of Finance” ETF focused on crypto and fintech companies.
But not all recent crypto-focused ETF attempts have been successful—the SEC last month rejected applications from Fidelity and First Trust Advisors and Skybridge for spot market Bitcoin ETFs.
Corporate interest in cryptocurrency appears to be on the rise, with accounting and auditing firm KPMG’s Canadian division just announcing it's invested in both Bitcoin and Ethereum.