In bygone bitcoin bull markets, it was common for miners, including those residing in ETFs such as the CoinShares Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI ), to capitalize on those higher prices by selling a portion of their bitcoin holdings.
That makes sense. Profits aren’t profits until they’re realized. And cryptocurrency mining is a cost-intensive industry. That means there’s intense scrutiny on miners’ balance sheets and spending patterns. However, the current bitcoin bull run is reversing the old ways. And miners, including WGMI member firms, aren’t rushing to pare bitcoin holdings.
In fact, bitcoin miners’ recent behavior suggests these companies are betting on the largest digital currency continuing to notch higher prices. Data indicates some miners are boosting bitcoin reserves. Some of the oldest companies in the industries have dramatically reduced sales relative to previous bitcoin bull runs.
WGMI Winning Ways Can Continue
Obviously, higher bitcoin prices are helping, but it appears investors are rewarding WGMI holdings for holding on to more of the cryptocurrency as its price surges. That much can be confirmed by the ETF soaring nearly 18% for the month ending June 26.
Interestingly due to the bitcoin halving that occurred last year, the mining process is now more difficult and expensive. That means miners are generating less revenue for the same amount of work performed prior to the halving. But that’s not stoking large-scale selling by the group.
“Miner outflows have dropped from a daily peak of 23K BTC in February 2025 to roughly 6K BTC as of today. Moreover, there have not been any days with extremely high outflows since February, and Bitcoin transferred directly from miners to exchanges has also remained low,” according to a recent report by CryptoQuant.
CryptoQuant pointed out another compelling factor. The oldest bitcoin miners, some of which are held by WGMI, are not rushing to sell. This marks a clear reversal of historical trends.
“Selling from Satoshi-era miners remains at low levels. These miners have sold only 150 Bitcoin so far in 2025, compared to almost 10K Bitcoin in 2024,” noted the research firm. “Historically, old miners from the Satoshi-era usually move their coins after a strong price rally, indicating a potential market top.”
In more good news, signs point to increased profitability for bitcoin miners in May despite the aforementioned burdens caused by the halving.
“BTC’s rally follows the recent gold rally as investors seek inflation-protected assets in anticipation of ballooning fiscal deficits in the U.S., among other countries,” according to Jefferies analysts Jonathan Petersen and Jan Aygul.
For more news, information, and strategy, visit the CoinShares Crypto ETF Hub.
