The enthusiasm surrounding the crypto market that followed Donald Trump’s return to the White House is starting to fade. David Hollerith, a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance, noted that Bitcoin hit a three-month low on February 25, briefly dropping below $87,000. This was the biggest drop in three weeks for the largest cryptocurrency in the world. On February 25, Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, fell 10% while Solana fell more than 12% to hit its lowest point in five months.
The recent sell-off in cryptocurrencies isn’t attributed to any single cause but industry watchers are pointing to a combination of negative factors contributing to the downturn. These include broader economic uncertainty, concerns about Trump tariffs, and the recent hack of the Bybit crypto exchange. Despite initial optimism about a pro-crypto stance from the Trump administration, it appears that the market rally that followed his election is losing momentum.
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Noelle Acheson, founder of Crypto Is Macro Now, told Yahoo Finance that the “Trump rally” could just be running out of steam. She believes that the pullback is happening because of concerns about economic growth as the new administration announces new tariffs and tax cuts. Crypto-related stocks have also been negatively affected by the downturn.
Bernstein’s analyst Gautam Chhugani told clients in a note that the Bitcoin market is closely tied to broader equity market sentiment driven by macroeconomic concerns. Bernstein believes that Bitcoin has not reached its peak in its current 4-year cycle and projects it could reach closer to $200,000 over the next 12 months. On a technical level, Chhugani thinks Bitcoin could drop as low as $70,000. However, Bernstein sees this potential drop could be an opportunity for investors to join the cycle, suggesting that any decline could be a buying opportunity.
Bitcoin’s price could bounce back if it gets more bullish announcements from the White House. President Trump has fulfilled some of the promises he made to the crypto industry, but other promises and regulatory developments are taking longer. While Bitcoin has fallen 6% since the start of 2025, it is still up 26% since Trump’s election victory.
With this background in mind, let’s take a look at the 10 worst-performing crypto stocks to buy now.
A close-up of a person’s hands holding cryptocurrency coins.
Our Methodology
To compile our list of the 10 worst-performing crypto stocks to buy now, we looked for the largest crypto companies. We reviewed financial media reports, ETFs, our own rankings, and various online resources to compile a list of crypto stocks. To look for the worst-performing stocks, we looked for crypto stocks that have experienced negative returns year-to-date as of February 21, 2025. Next, we focused on the top 10 stocks most favored by institutional investors. Data for the hedge fund sentiment surrounding each stock was taken from Insider Monkey’s Q4 2024 database of more than 1,000 elite hedge funds. Finally, the 10 worst-performing crypto stocks to buy according to hedge funds were ranked in ascending order based on the number of hedge funds holding stakes in them as of Q4 2024.
Why do we care about what hedge funds do? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
10 Worst Performing Crypto Stocks to Buy Now
10. Bitfarms Ltd. (NASDAQ:BITF)
Year-to-Date Performance: -18.01%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 15
Bitfarms Ltd. (NASDAQ:BITF) is a multinational Bitcoin mining company that develops, owns, and operates vertically integrated mining facilities and data centers. The company currently has 13 operational Bitcoin mining facilities and data centers and hosting agreements with 2 data centers across the US, Canada, Paraguay, and Argentina. Bitfarms Ltd. (NASDAQ:BITF) ranks among the worst-performing stocks in the crypto sector.
The company is making strategic moves to upgrade its fleet and grow its operations, especially in the United States. Bitfarms Ltd. (NASDAQ:BITF) expects to close the acquisition of Stronghold Digital Mining in the first quarter of 2025. This transaction is expected to significantly increase the company’s energy capacity to over 950 megawatts by the end of 2025. Interestingly, this will also grow Bitfarms Ltd.’s (NASDAQ:BITF) operations in the US from 6% to about 66% of the company’s total capacity.
Moreover, Bitfarms Ltd. (NASDAQ:BITF) added 5,400 miners in Q3 2024 as part of its fleet upgrade program. In the third quarter of 2024, the company earned 703 Bitcoins and also achieved its efficiency target of 21 watts per terahash (w/TH) 3 months ahead of schedule.
9. Canaan Inc. (NASDAQ:CAN)
Year-to-Date Performance: -24.77%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 16
Canaan Inc. (NASDAQ:CAN) is a China-based high-performance computing solutions provider and technology company that specializes in blockchain servers and ASIC microprocessors for use in Bitcoin mining. CAN is one of the worst-performing crypto stocks to buy now.
The company is focused on innovating user-friendly and practical solutions while also engaging in significant business partnerships. In January 2025, at CES 2025, Canaan Inc. (NASDAQ:CAN) introduced two innovative Bitcoin mining devices with home heating solutions designed to make crypto mining more accessible to individuals. First, the 37.5 TH/s Avalon Mini 3, which is a powerful 800-watt space heater that mines bitcoin. Second, the 6 TH/s Avalon Nano 3S, which is 140-watt and a more compact option.
Additionally, on December 12, 2024, Canaan Inc. (NASDAQ:CAN) entered into an agreement with AGM Group Holdings to provide 2,000 Avalon A15 HydU 370T Bitcoin mining machines. The agreement also includes an option to acquire about 30,000 additional mining units. On January 6, 2025, Canaan Inc. (NASDAQ:CAN) announced that it entered into an agreement with a new, strategic United States customer to provide 2,800 air-cooled Avalon A15XP miners. The miners are expected to be delivered in the first quarter of 2025.
8. MARA Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA)
Year-to-Date Performance: -14.82%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 21
MARA Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) is an American digital asset technology company that is primarily focused on energy generation and Bitcoin mining. The company develops and deploys advanced digital asset compute technology to improve the efficiency of the crypto mining process. MARA Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) is one of the worst-performing stocks in the crypto space.
The company is focused on expanding its mining capacity in 2025 as it aims to strengthen its position in the Bitcoin mining industry. MARA Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) has been actively expanding its mining capacity through acquisitions and site developments. Following the end of Q3 2024, the company added 372 megawatts of mining capacity in Ohio with an acquisition of a 222-megawatt site, in addition to securing greenfield site development of 150-megawatt. Additionally, on February 18, 2025, MARA Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) closed its acquisition of a wind farm in Hansford County, Texas. This acquisition adds 240 megawatts of interconnection capacity and 114 megawatts of nameplate wind capacity. MARA Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) plans to use this renewable energy to power its mining operations and reduce Bitcoin production costs by utilizing last-generation ASIC mining hardware that would otherwise be discarded.
7. CleanSpark, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLSK)
Year-to-Date Performance: -2.22%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 25
CleanSpark Inc. (NASDAQ:CLSK) is an American Bitcoin mining company that owns and operates a portfolio of mining facilities across the US. CLSK ranks among the worst-performing crypto stocks to buy now.
The company is making strategic acquisitions to expand and accelerate growth. In September 2024, CleanSpark Inc. (NASDAQ:CLSK) acquired 2 Bitcoin mining sites and associated land in Mississippi for a total of $5.78 million. This acquisition is expected to support a combined 16.5 megawatts. Moreover, on October 30, 2024, the company acquired GRIID Infrastructure. This move will help CleanSpark Inc. (NASDAQ:CLSK) expand its Bitcoin mining capacity in Tennessee. The acquisition adds 68 megawatts of developed infrastructure and the company has plans to build it to over 400 megawatts of operational capacity. CleanSpark Inc. (NASDAQ:CLSK) is profiting from its expansion efforts and in January 2025, the company announced that it achieved more than 10,000 Bitcoin in its treasury. This represented a stunning increase of 236% year-over-year in CleanSpark Inc.’s (NASDAQ:CLSK) Bitcoin treasury.
6. Hut 8 Corp. (NASDAQ:HUT)
Year-to-Date Performance: -18.09%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 34
Hut 8 Corp. (NASDAQ:HUT) is an energy infrastructure operator and Bitcoin mining company with self-mining, hosting, managed services, and data center operations. The company has a portfolio of sites that includes Bitcoin mining, hosting, and managed services sites, high-performance computing (HPC) data centers, and power generation assets. Hut 8 Corp. (NASDAQ:HUT) ranks among the worst-performing crypto stocks to buy now.
The company is focused on high-impact projects in both AI and Bitcoin mining and continues to strategically strengthen its positioning in the market by upgrading and expanding its operations. In November 2024, Hut 8 Corp. (NASDAQ:HUT) announced its agreement with BITMAIN to upgrade about 111 megawatts of self-mining capacity across its existing fleet in the first quarter of 2025. The company will acquire Antminer S21+ miners to improve the self-mining hashrate by 3.7 exahashes per second (EH/s) to 9.3 EH/s. This move will help Hut 8 Corp. (NASDAQ:HUT) reach its goal of 24 EH/s of self-mining hashrate by Q2 2025. Additionally, the company’s 205-megawatt Vega project is progressing rapidly and it is scheduled for energization in Q2 2025. At the Vega site, Hut 8 Corp. (NASDAQ:HUT) will use its rack-based Tier I data center architecture to power ASIC computing with direct-to-chip liquid cooling at densities of up to 200 kilowatts per rack.
5. TeraWulf Inc. (NASDAQ:WULF)
Year-to-Date Performance: -25.27%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 43
TeraWulf Inc. (NASDAQ:WULF) is an American company that develops, owns, and operates advanced data center infrastructure in the United States that is designed for Bitcoin mining and high-performance computing (HPC). The company owns and operates the Lake Mariner facility in Western New York and generates revenue primarily through Bitcoin mining. TeraWulf Inc. (NASDAQ:WULF) is one of the worst-performing stocks in the crypto sector.
The company is focused on growth in both its Bitcoin mining and HPC hosting businesses and it is also making strategic moves to improve operational capacity. In the third quarter of 2024, TeraWulf Inc. (NASDAQ:WULF) self-mined 555 Bitcoin at its Lake Mariner and Nautilus Cryptomine facilities. By the end of Q3 2024, the company had a total self-mining hashrate capacity of 10.0 EH/s. This marks an increase of 100% year-over-year. Following the third quarter of 2024, TeraWulf Inc. (NASDAQ:WULF) developed a 2.5 megawatt HPC hosting proof-of-concept project at the Lake Mariner facility.
4. MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR)
Year-to-Date Performance: -0.11%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 44
MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR), doing business as Strategy, is the world’s first and largest Bitcoin treasury company. The company is strategically focused on accumulating Bitcoin and supporting its role as digital capital. MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) also offers business intelligence, AI-powered enterprise analytics software, and cloud-based services. With Bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset, the company is a major corporate holder of Bitcoin. MSTR ranks among the worst-performing stocks to buy in the crypto space.
The company is strategically and intelligently leveraging Bitcoin to increase shareholder value. In October 2024, MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) announced its “21/21 Plan” to raise a total of $42 billion over the next three years. This strategic plan involves raising $21 billion in equity and $21 billion in fixed-income securities, which MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) will use to purchase more Bitcoin to achieve a higher BTC yield. By the end of 2024, the company had already completed $20 billion of its $42 billion capital plan, significantly ahead of the initial timelines. As a result, Q4 2024 marked the largest-ever increase in quarterly bitcoin holdings for MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR). The company acquired 218,887 Bitcoins for $20.5 billion.
3. Core Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ:CORZ)
Year-to-Date Performance: -25.41%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 66
Core Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ:CORZ) is a leading company in digital infrastructure with a strong focus on Bitcoin mining and high-performance computing (HPC). The company operates data centers across the US, offers hosting services for Bitcoin mining customers, and also mines Bitcoin for its own. CORZ ranks among the worst-performing stocks in the crypto space.
Core Scientific Inc. (NASDAQ:CORZ) is in the process of allocating and converting a portion of its data centers to support AI-related workloads and deliver hosting services for HPC. While the company is strategically focused on growing its HPC business, it is also looking to strengthen its Bitcoin mining business. Core Scientific Inc. (NASDAQ:CORZ) recently completed a 100-megawatt expansion at its Pecos, Texas Bitcoin mining data center. In January 2025, the company earned 256 Bitcoins from its owned fleet of miners.
2. Coinbase Global, Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN)
Year-to-Date Performance: -8.49%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 68
Coinbase Global, Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) is an American company that operates an online platform for buying, selling, transferring, and storing cryptocurrency. The company serves customers in over 100 countries. COIN is one of the worst-performing crypto stocks to buy now. On February 19, Compass Point analyst Chase White raised the price target for Coinbase Global, Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) to $365 from $295 while maintaining a “Buy” rating. This increase in price target followed the company’s financial results, which outperformed market expectations as the company reported sales of $2.2 billion and EBITDA of $1.3 billion to surpass forecasts of $1.8 billion in sales and $897 million in EBITDA. Despite this impressive performance, Coinbase Global, Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) stock price declined. White believes this was because of higher-than-expected cost guidance.
The analyst did not agree with this market reaction and suggested that the increased costs are justified by the need to sustain strong growth. White believes that Coinbase Global, Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) will grow because of its strong retail market share and expanding subscription and service revenues. White also noted near-term opportunities for Coinbase Global, Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN), such as the potential of Stablecoin and Base L2. He noted that the USDC market cap is nearing all-time highs and that Coinbase Global, Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) has an advantage over rivals like Tether in on-chain transfer volumes. Additionally, White expects financial institutions to adopt these platforms, especially following potential legislative developments, which he believes are likely to occur in 2025.
1. Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ)
Year-to-Date Performance: -21.21%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 81
Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ), previously known as Square, is an American technology company that is focused on financial services and has a significant involvement in the crypto space. In 2021, the company changed its name to reflect its growing focus on blockchain technologies and crypto. Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) provides a variety of products and services. Through its main product, Square, the company helps businesses manage payments and operations. Cash App: allows users to buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin. Through TBD, the company is focused on building decentralized financial services by creating an open platform for accessing Bitcoin and other blockchain technologies.
The company operates a diverse business model that generates multiple revenue streams by serving various customer needs, from small businesses to individual users. Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) is focused on innovation, particularly within the crypto space, where it is developing crypto mining hardware. In July 2024, Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) announced an agreement to supply Core Scientific, one of the largest Bitcoin miners in North America, with new 3-nanometer (3nm) mining ASICs to enhance Bitcoin mining operations. The ASIC mining chip is built by the Proto team at Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ). The Proto team is developing a modular mining platform around its ASIC mining chip to provide an innovative, integrated Bitcoin mining solution that improves efficiency, reliability, and uptime in large-scale mining operations.
Overall, XYZ ranks first among the 10 worst-performing crypto stocks to buy now. While we acknowledge the potential of crypto companies, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than XYZ but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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