Author: Ben Strack, Blockworks; Compiled by: Wu Baht, Golden Finance

When researching cryptocurrency stocks, a joint investment with the long-term blockchain-focused Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF (BLOK) Portfolio Manager Chat is a great conversation to have.

Dan Weiskopf told me that he is more optimistic about 2025 now than he was about this year at the end of 2023.

What is the main reason? As more pure-play cryptocurrency companies go public, there will be “crazy opportunities” for investors.

Some expect stablecoin issuer Circle to be the next to go public.

Weiskopf noted that while several other Bitcoin miners may also go public, it's a crowded space. But BLOK would consider holding cloud computing company CoreWeave - one of mining giant Core Scientific's biggest customers.

Speaking of Core Scientific, the stock — which is up about 320% year to date — is BLOK’s No. 1 holding (4.67%). Another miner Weiskopf is interested in is Hut 8 - the ETF's sixth-largest holding at 4.16%.

“I think we’ve done a very good job of repositioning and realigning miners to seize the diversification opportunities in artificial intelligence,” Mike Venuto noted.

Hut 8 has a slightly higher weighting than MicroStrategy - the stock will be added to the Nasdaq 100 next week (I'll have more on this on Monday). Weiskopf and co-chancellor Mike Venuto noted that BLOK began purchasing MSTR in August 2020 (when the price was $14).

MSTR shares trade around $350 (up more than 400% year-to-date). Benchmark analysts raised their price target on the stock to $650 on Monday after MicroStrategy increased its Bitcoin holdings to 439,000 BTC.

Nonetheless, Weiskopf and Venuto recently reduced BLOK's exposure to MSTR and CORZ as the stocks "rose above our weighting limits," they added. In other words, they are cutting back on winners in the hope that other successes will follow.

As BLOK fund managers await more IPOs in 2025, they began buying Japan's Metaplanet last month.

While more and more companies are adding BTC to their coffers (around 60, by Weiskopf’s count), many are small. He said it’s unlikely that so-called “zombie companies” will rebound simply because they bought crypto assets.

“They make the headlines, but do they have a real strategy?” Weiskopf added that he is evaluating these BTC buyers.

He believes one company dedicated to these BTC purchases is Metaplanet, which in April announced its intention to emulate MicroStrategy's efforts. The company said this week it would issue 5 billion yen in ordinary bonds to accelerate Bitcoin purchases.

So, for those monitoring cryptocurrency stocks, BLOK holdings appear to be worth a look. Additionally, in what could be a transformational year for the sector, there are opportunities that have yet to materialize.