Blue Chips
IBM (IBM)
IBM has established itself as a major player in the enterprise blockchain solutions space.
J.P. Morgan (JPM)
J.P. Morgan is the largest investment bank in the world. While its core business is very much focused on banking, the Wall Street giant has also been heavily involved in the development of new financial technology.
Microsoft (MSFT)
Microsoft has become another major player in the blockchain industry with its cloud-based Azure Blockchain-as-a-Service platform.
Many people believe that the only way to invest in the booming blockchain industry is to buy digital currencies and crypto assets, but there is another way to build wealth. Investors can buy stock in traditional technology companies that are investing heavily in blockchain. In this article, we’ll review our top picks for blockchain stocks, which we also call “block stocks.”
Data taken from Yahoo Finance and Google Finance.
IBM (IBM)
IBM (IBM)Market Capitalization: $126.5 billion
Share Price: $141.18
Dividend Yield (%): 4.67
Earning Per Share (EPS): $6.09
Degree of Blockchain Focus: 3.5
IBM has established itself as a major player in the enterprise blockchain solutions space.
The New York-based technology powerhouse provides a Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) solution and is involved in a range of DLT trials across the globe. (BMJ Score: 4.5)
J.P. Morgan (JPM)
J.P. Morgan (JPM)Market Capitalization: $382.3 billion
Share Price: $130.16
Dividend Yield (%): 3.07
Earning Per Share (EPS): $13.48
Degree of Blockchain Focus: 2
J.P. Morgan is the largest investment bank in the world. While its core business is very much focused on banking, the Wall Street giant has also been heavily involved in the development of new financial technology.
J.P. Morgan’s main venture into blockchain technology is its enterprise-ready disunited ledger platform Quorum, which provides “high speed and high throughput processing of private transactions” on a permission blockchain. (BMJ Score: 4.5)
Microsoft (MSFT)
Microsoft (MSFT)Market Capitalization: $2.02 trillion
Share Price: $270
Dividend Yield (%): 0.92
Earning Per Share (EPS): $9.58
Degree of Blockchain Focus: 3
Microsoft has become another major player in the blockchain industry with its cloud-based Azure Blockchain-as-a-Service platform.
In 2015, Microsoft was the first to launch a cloud-based blockchain solution for businesses platform and has since been involved in a wide range of DLT trials across the globe.
Moreover, Microsoft has started to connect other platforms and software to its blockchain solution to enable its users to transfer data from these platforms onto the cloud and from there, onto the blockchain. (BMJ Score: 4.0)
Goldman Sachs (GS)
Goldman Sachs (GS)Market Capitalization: $109.5 billion
Share Price: $318.68
Dividend Yield (%): 2.51
Earning Per Share (EPS): $51.53
Degree of Blockchain Focus: 2
Goldman Sachs is one of Wall Street’s leading investment banks.
Despite its bitcoin-skeptic CEO Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs has been investing heavily in blockchain startups such as Axoni, BitGo, Circle, and Veem, and has recently launched a bitcoin derivatives offering for a select group of clients. (BMJ Score: 4.0)
Oracle (ORCL)
Oracle (ORCL)Market Capitalization: $191.5 billion
Share Price: $71.79
Dividend Yield (%): 1.78
Earning Per Share (EPS): $2.66
Degree of Blockchain Focus: 2
Technology giant Oracle has joined the likes of IBM and Microsoft in delivering a cloud-based Blockchain-as-a-Service solution.
The Oracle Blockchain Cloud Service (BCS) leverages the blockchain to enable businesses to perform secure identity authentication, information sharing, smart contract creation, and more. (BMJ Score: 3.5)
Coinbase (COIN)
Coinbase (COIN)Market Capitalization: $17.5 billion
Share Price: $66.69
Dividend Yield (%): 0
Earning Per Share (EPS): $9.78
Degree of Blockchain Focus: 5
Coinbase Global, Inc, listed on NASDAQ with the ticker COIN, operates the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US, handling about $1 billion in trading volume per day.
While the spot exchange platform is the flagship product, Coinbase also provides other crypto-related services, including borrowing against crypto collateral, a credit card to spend crypto, a non-fungible token (NFT) solution, a yield product, and an off-line crypto custody solution for businesses, among others.
As of today, Coinbase has almost 100 million verified users from more than 100 countries.
The company was founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong, a former AirBnB engineer. It was listed on NASDAQ in April 2021 via a direct stock listing. (BMJ Score: 3.5)
Seagate (STX)
Seagate (STX)Market Capitalization: $17.77 billion
Share Price: $82.71
Dividend Yield (%): 3.39
Earning Per Share (EPS): $8.15
Degree of Blockchain Focus: 2
Seagate is a market-leading data storage company that has also expanded into blockchain technology.
The technology company recently announced it intends to leverage blockchain to fight counterfeit hard drives in a partnership with IBM.
Seagate has also invested in the digital currency startup Ripple Labs. (BMJ Score: 3.5)
NASDAQ (NDAQ)
NASDAQ (NDAQ)Market Capitalization: $25.37 billion
Share Price: $154.07
Dividend Yield (%):1.56
Earning Per Share (EPS): $6.97
Degree of Blockchain Focus: 3
Nasdaq is a pioneer in blockchain adoption among publicly-traded financial services companies.
In 2015, the New York-based stock exchange launched a blockchain-powered private share market called Linq and continues to explore blockchain technology to improve its services as an exchange. (BMJ Score: 3.5)
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE)
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE)Market Capitalization: $56.35 billion
Share Price: $100.94
Dividend Yield (%): 1.51
Earning Per Share (EPS): $7.20
Degree of Blockchain Focus: 3
The Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), which owns the New York Stock Exchange, is one of the most interesting financial stocks that offer blockchain exposure.
ICE announced last summer that it is developing a cryptocurrency exchange offering, called Bakkt, that will go live at the end of 2018.
The exchange will offer bitcoin futures contracts as its first product. (BMJ Score: 3.5)
Overstock (OSTK)
Overstock (OSTK)Market Capitalization: $1.38 billion
Share Price: $30.85
Dividend Yield (%): 0
Earning Per Share (EPS): -$7.99
Degree of Blockchain Focus: 4
Online retailer Overstock is a pioneer for bitcoin and blockchain adoption.
It was one of the first major businesses to accept bitcoin back in 2014 and has since evolved into a de facto blockchain company.
Through its subsidiary Medici Ventures, it has become a major investor in blockchain companies and it is launching tZero, a tokenized securities trading platform. (BMJ Score: 3.0)
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)Market Capitalization: $172.3 billion
Share Price: $106.30
Dividend Yield (%): 0
Earning Per Share (EPS): $2.66
Degree of Blockchain Focus: 3.5
Advanced Micro Devices, commonly referred to as AMD, is a market-leading GPU manufacturer.
AMDs graphics cards have become popular among miners who use GPUs to mine digital currencies, which makes this stock an indirect play on the potential future success of digital currency mining.
The company has recently announced a new set of “blockchain compute solutions” for digital currency miners. (BMJ Score: 2.0)
Small Cap Stocks
Data taken from Yahoo Finance and Google Finance.
Northern Bitcoin (NB2)
Northern Bitcoin (NB2)Market Capitalization: €740 million
Share Price: €31.1
Dividend Yield (%): 0
Earning Per Share (EPS): 0
Degree of Blockchain Focus: 5
Northern Bitcoin is a German digital currency mining company traded on the Frankfurt stock exchange.
Northern Bitcoin’s mission is to provide sustained and profitable infrastructure to bitcoin and its blockchain using renewable resources. (BMJ Score: 2.5)
HIVE Blockchain (HIVE)
HIVE Blockchain (HIVE)Market Capitalization: $348.7 million
Share Price: $4.24
Dividend Yield (%): 0
Earning Per Share (EPS): $1.91
Degree of Blockchain Focus: 5
HIVE Blockchain is a blockchain technology infrastructure company based in Vancouver, Canada.
The Toronto Stock Exchange-listed company was founded as a partnership between Genesis Mining – a market leader in cloud mining – and the Foire Group, and its main focus is digital currency mining, which it conducts in locations in Sweden, Iceland, and Norway. (BMJ Score: 2.0)
DigitalX (DCC)
DigitalX (DCC)Market Capitalization: AUD 35.6 million
Share Price: AUD 0.048
Dividend Yield (%): 0
Earning Per Share (EPS): 0.008
Degree of Blockchain Focus: 5
DigitalX – listed on the Australian Stock Exchange – provides ICO advisory services, blockchain software development, and blockchain consulting. (BMJ Score: 2.0)
Mining Stocks
Data taken from Yahoo Finance and Google Finance.
Riot Blockchain (RIOT)
Riot Blockchain (RIOT)Market Capitalization: $788.9 million
Share Price: $6.21
Dividend Yield (%): 0
Earning Per Share (EPS): $0.19
Degree of Blockchain Focus: 5
Riot Blockchain, Inc is a US-based bitcoin mining company, which focuses on expanding its mining operations by increasing its bitcoin mining hash rate.
The company, which trades on NASDAQ with the ticker RIOT, was formerly known as Bioptix, and it was known for holding veterinary products patents and researching new methods to test for diseases. It rebranded in 2017 to Riot Blockchain and changed its business direction, pushing the share price to record levels at the time.
In the first quarter of 2022, Riot saw mining revenue surging to a record $57.9 million compared to $23.2million in the same period in 2021, as the company produced a record 1,405 BTC, which is almost three times more than in Q1 2021. (BMJ Score: 3.0)
Hut 8 Mining (HUT)
Hut 8 Mining (HUT)Market Capitalization: $402.4 million
Share Price: $2.31
Dividend Yield (%): 0
Earning Per Share (EPS): -$0.19
Degree of Blockchain Focus: 5
Hut 8 Mining is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE) in Canada as well as on NASDAQ, trading with the ticker HUT in both cases. The Toronto-based company is one of the largest bitcoin and Ethereum miners in the world.
Founded in 2011, it is also one of the oldest entities maintaining the bitcoin network.
In the first three months of 2022, the company mined 942 BTC to generate almost $50 million of revenue, up from 539 bitcoin and $30.6 million in revenue in the first quarter of 2021. (BMJ Score: 2.5)
Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA)
Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA)Market Capitalization: $935.5 million
Share Price: $8.8
Dividend Yield (%): 0
Earning Per Share (EPS): -$1.31
Degree of Blockchain Focus: 5
Las Vegas-based Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc was founded in 2010 and currently engages in mining cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin. The company trades on NASDAQ under the ticker MARA.
The company was formerly known as Marathon Patent Group, Inc. and rebranded in February 2021.
In the first three months of 2022, Marathon produced 1,259 bitcoin and generated revenue of $51.7 million, up 465% from the same period in 2021.
Last year, MARA was added to the Russell 2000 Index, which tracks 2,000 small-cap public companies. (BMJ Score: 2.5)
Bitfarms (BITF)
Bitfarms (BITF)Market Capitalization: $394.15 million
Share Price: $1.94
Dividend Yield (%): 0
Earning Per Share (EPS): $0.17
Degree of Blockchain Focus: 5
Bitfarms Ltd is a Toronto-based cryptocurrency mining company focused mainly on bitcoin. It is traded on Canada’s TSE as well as on NASDAQ.
Bitfarms, which was founded in 2017, manages one of the largest bitcoin mining operations in North America, boasting a hashrate of 3.4 EH/s.
The company operates five facilities in Québec, Canada, with the operations being powered by clean and cheap hydroelectricity.
In the first three months of 2022, the company mined 961 bitcoin to generate about $40 million in revenue, up 42% from $28 million revenue recorded in the same quarter in 2021. (BMJ Score: 2.0)
Blockchain Stock FAQs
Why Choose Blockchain Stocks over Cryptocurrencies?
While one doesn’t exclude the other, holding stocks may have benefits over buying digital currencies. Stock investors are eligible to hold voting rights or, in some cases, a portion of the company’s profits in the form of dividends.
Also, the price of a stock is less volatile and potentially more predictable compared to the price of most digital assets, excepting stablecoins, which have their price pegged to fiat currencies or commodities.
Stock investors may argue that public companies are more transparent than crypto projects, which sometimes can be run by anonymous teams. In the US and most other countries, public companies are required by law to provide accurate updates on the financial results and the most important events on a regular basis. This helps investors to perform fundamental analysis and find appropriate times to buy or sell.
What are the Best Blockchain Stocks? (by performance)
While blockchain company stocks can be driven by macroeconomic factors like the rest of the stock market, the higher the degree of blockchain focus, the higher the correlation to the cryptocurrency market. For example, mining companies like Riot Blockchain, Hive, Hut 8, and others show a direct correlation with the price of bitcoin.
Elsewhere, diversified tech businesses, such as IBM or Microsoft, may not be as sensitive to what is happening in the crypto space as they have many other business lines driving their share price.
How can I Buy Blockchain Stocks?
You may start investing in blockchain stocks by registering with a reputable broker that offers an online trading platform with technical analysis tools, available customer support, and educational materials.
In the US, the most popular stock brokers are TD Ameritrade, Fidelity, and E*Trade. Also, there are stock platforms exclusively oriented to retail investors, such as Robinhood. On a side note, Robinhood enables investors to get exposure to both US stocks and cryptocurrencies.
What are the Top Blockchain Stocks? (by trade volume)
Usually, the most popular stocks are blue chips, which attract a lot of investors. Nevertheless, some small-cap stocks can see trading volume figures higher than blue chips, especially if the latter have a high share price. For example, IBM’s average daily volume is 4.5 million shares while RIOT’s average daily volume is over 15 million. It happens that IBM’s high price of $140 doesn’t attract retail investors as much as RIOT does, even though IBM’s float is almost 900 million shares, which is over 5 times as much as RIOT’s float.
That being said, top blockchain stocks usually have an attractive price for retail investors, are popular, and have strong fundamentals. Some examples are COIN, RIOT, and AMD.
Subscribe to Bitcoin Market Journal to explore more blockchain investment opportunities!