Luxor Technologies Launches Index of Crypto Mining Stocks

Luxor Technologies on Wednesday has rolled out a mining stock index that the crypto mining firm said will help quantify the industry's health on the public markets.

The new index product, which appears on Luxor’s “Hashrate Index,” features 50 publicly traded companies with a stake in the mining game. Miners themselves are heavily represented, but some tech-related companies such as SBI Holdings and Galaxy Digital are also in the mix.

Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Ethan Vera told CoinDesk the “Crypto Miner Stock Index” comes as more mining companies go public. Publicly traded mining companies now power over 15% of the bitcoin network’s hashrate, he said.

He said the index “provides miners, investors and the public a gauge on how investors are looking at the space and the sentiment in mining.” The index will be updated quarterly.

The investment world has been chasing mining exposure in recent months amid a wider shakeup in the sector. Last week, Viridi Funds unveiled an exchange-traded fund for bitcoin mining firms going green. That vehicle is to be 80% in green miners and 20% in  semiconductor companies. 

Public pensions are also getting in on bitcoin mining stocks as an arm's-length investment in the crypto economy.

For its part, Luxor’s index will be a mix of pure-play mining firms and the companies supporting them. Ten percent of the initial index is earmarked for chip manufacturers, 5% for foundries and the remaining 85% for the miners themselves. 

Diversified crypto companies with a stake in the mining business get 50% less weighted power, according to a press release.

“Bitcoin mining valuations are a high beta play on bitcoin,” Vera said. “If the underlying commodity moves a few percent, the valuations move some multiple of that. These valuations give investors torque on the underlying commodity.”