The Valkyrie Bitcoin Mining (WGMI) exchange-traded fund (ETF) has been identified as the least successful ETF of 2025, experiencing a decline of 43% year-to-date, as reported by a Senior Analyst at Bloomberg.
This ETF comprises various publicly traded bitcoin (BTC) mining companies. The largest position is held by IREN (IREN), accounting for 15% and down 42%. Next is Core Scientific (CORZ) with a 14% stake and a significant drop of 48%, while Cipher Mining (CIFR), the third-largest holding at 9.6%, has seen a 52% decrease. Notably, even NVIDIA (NVDA), the sixth-largest holding at 5%, has experienced a decline of over 20% this year.
The stated investment strategy indicates that the ETF focuses on companies that earn at least 50% of their revenue or profits from bitcoin mining and/or providing specialized equipment, software, or services for bitcoin mining. WGMI contains 21 holdings and oversees total assets of $147.2 million.
In contrast, metals ETFs have emerged as the standout performers of 2025. Top rankings include multiple gold mining ETFs, with the Equity World Basic Materials DAXglobal Gold Miners ETF up by 38% year-to-date, according to data from a market analysis platform.
This year has posed considerable hurdles for bitcoin miners, as the network’s hash rate—the indicator of the computational power needed for bitcoin mining—continues to rise, nearing record levels around 832 EH/s. This has led to a significant gap between bitcoin’s pricing and the hash rate.
Consequently, mining difficulty remains elevated, making it increasingly challenging for miners to generate new bitcoins. Simultaneously, low transaction fees are further constraining miner profitability, as the rewards from processing transactions remain inadequate.