In this article, we will take a look at the recent news from the crypto industry while discussing the 20 cryptocurrency stocks to buy according to hedge funds.
A Review of the Crypto World: Latest Updates
Crypto has emerged as a major political issue in the US with the campaigns for election going on. Head of Firmwide research Galaxy Digital Alex Thorn called August a rough and seasonally bad week for Bitcoin. He mentioned how eight out of the eleven prior Augusts witnessed the major coin trading down. However, political events have also played a role in the crypto landscape.
In Thorn’s opinion, most people view Trump’s victory as bullish for the crypto market. Trump who is now running for President brought the hopes of the crypto world higher by promising to deliver a plan to make the United States the ‘crypto capital of the planet’. Crypto became an even hotter topic as Kamala Haris simultaneously supported policies for the expansion of the industry. In the opinion of Thorn, most people view Trump’s victory as bullish for the crypto market. He predicts crypto will run quite higher if Trump ends up winning the election based on an anticipated easing of the regulations. On the other hand, he expects the victory of Harris to be more neutral even for the industry since those advising her belong to the Biden administration on crypto policy.
Looking forward to September which is a seasonally weak month for crypto too, the next months including October, November, and December are crypto’s most bullish months based on the seasonality factor. Regardless of the highly awaited Fed interest rate cuts just ahead of us, the crypto market investors still remain concerned as JPMorgan’s Head of Global and European Equity Strategy dismissed the potential of a crypto bull market. While September has been a historically worst month for US stocks, the upcoming rate cut might be an outlier in history.
In an interview with CNBC, Anthony Pompliano, Professional Capital Management CEO, talked about the recent price moves in Bitcoin. The German government offloading Bitcoin through as many exchanges and the Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox unloading coins onto the market are two important events defining this supply. Pompliano refers to Bitcoin as really illiquid with many Bitcoin holders having a long-term view of it. At the start of 2024, the Bitcoin amount that had not moved in more than a year was over 70%. Some of it started to get distributed as prices rose, as expected in a bull market. Although Pompliano expects this percentage to drop to 50% to 55% but still at least half of the Bitcoin would still be in the hands of people who have an over 10-year time horizon. Thus, the question revolves around whether these hands are strong enough to outlast the aforementioned two events. Pompliano finally states time as the only catalyst for Bitcoin rather than a pro-crypto candidate in the upcoming US elections. While the summer season is a bit slow, prices typically go back up in September and beyond.
With that, let’s look at the 20 best cryptocurrency stocks to buy now.
Our Methodology:
In order to compile a list of the 20 best cryptocurrency stocks to buy according to hedge funds, we sifted through ETFs and online rankings to compile a preliminary list of 40 companies involved in the crypto space. Moving on, we shortlisted the top 20 stocks from our list which had the highest number of hedge fund holders. The 20 best cryptocurrency stocks to buy according to hedge funds have been arranged in ascending order of the number of hedge fund holders they have, as of Q2 2024.
At Insider Monkey we are obsessed with the stocks that hedge funds pile into. 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 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
20 Best Cryptocurrency Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds
20. Hut 8 Mining Corp (NASDAQ:HUT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 13
Hut 8 Mining Corp (NASDAQ:HUT) is a Bitcoin mining company headquartered in Miami, Florida. The company has self-mining, hosting, managed services, and traditional data center operations across North America. It has a portfolio comprising 20 sites including 10 Bitcoin mining, hosting, and managed services sites in Alberta, New York, and Texas, 4 power generation assets in Ontario, 5 high-performance computing data centers in British Columbia and Ontario, and one newly announced site in the Texas Panhandle.
Hut 8 Mining Corp (NASDAQ:HUT) serves as one of North America’s largest Bitcoin miners and a leading vertically integrated operator of large-scale energy infrastructure. Its unique business model revolves around profitable digital asset mining, high-performance computing, and yield programs that complement its self-mined Bitcoin reserves’ value. The firm has years of experience mining digital assets with the most efficient mining servers which makes its operations one of the strongest in the mining industry. It has a proven track record of successfully navigating bull and bear Bitcoin market cycles. Despite the network halving during the second quarter, the firm’s gross margins in the Digital Assets Mining segment increased to 46% year-over-year.
An expanding footprint is core to the firm’s differentiated energy strategy. While the firm announced a new site in the Texas Panhandle, it is discussing a large-scale commercial partnership for the site which can power up to 205 megawatts of NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs. Emphasizing this business strategy, here is what the CEO Asher Genoot said during the Q1 2024 results conference call:
“We believe our strategy will position us for market leadership—first in Bitcoin mining then in the broader energy infrastructure sector. And with our commitment to disciplined capital allocation, focus on non-dilutive sources of funding, and exceptional team and board, we are more confident than ever that we are building a business that endures for generations and delivers lasting shareholder value.”
The firm’s strategy of building a portfolio that drives long-term market leadership, diversified business lines, and a strong and liquid balance sheet makes it attractive. As of Q2 2024, Hut 8 Mining Corp (NASDAQ:HUT) was held by 13 hedge funds thereby ranking among the 20 best cryptocurrency stocks to buy according to hedge funds.
19. Cipher Mining Inc. (NASDAQ:CIFR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 15
Cipher Mining Inc. (NASDAQ:CIFR) is an industrial-scale Bitcoin mining company that dedicates itself to expanding and strengthening the Bitcoin network’s critical infrastructure in the United States. Cipher focuses on the development and operation of bitcoin mining data centers in the country. The US-based Bitcoin mining company was incorporated in 2020 and aims to be the market leader in Bitcoin mining growth and innovation.
Cipher is in an attractive industry position to maximize opportunities in both Bitcoin mining and HPC infrastructure. It is currently developing HPC infrastructure to be complementary to its Bitcoin mining business. The firm strategically expanded into the High-Performance Computing (HPC) business and has the potential to become a market-leading HPC infrastructure provider by securing 4 new North American sites with up to 1.7 GW of capacity while all sites have adequate access to consistent power, land, and fiber necessary to accommodate HPC. With experienced industry experts from Google, Vantage, and Meta on the team and significant early interest from a broad set of potential investors and financiers, Cipher is poised to grow.
As indicated by the CEO of Cipher, the firm currently operates at 8.7 exahashes per second of self-mining hashrate and is on target to achieve 13.5 exahashes per second by the year’s end and 35.0 exahashes per second by 2025’s end, almost 4 times than the current. Amidst ambitious plans for expansion and consistent growth in Bitcoin mining capacity and efficiency, Cipher Mining Inc. (NASDAQ:CIFR) is aiming for the right balance between the two business lines. The stock was held by 15 hedge funds at the close of Q2 2024 and is one of the best cryptocurrency stocks to buy according to hedge funds.
18. Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 16
Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) operates as a global leader in digital asset compute. The company mines digital assets with a focus on the Bitcoin ecosystem in the United States. Marathon leverages digital asset compute to support the energy transformation by the conversion of clean, stranded, or underutilized energy into economic value.
Marathon is one of the largest and most liquid miners which continues to efficiently scale and expand its operations thereby setting the pace for the Bitcoin mining industry. The firm has a diversified portfolio of Bitcoin mining operations. All of this has translated into strong financial results. From Q4 2022 to Q4 2023, the company witnessed its hashrate, BTC production, efficiency, and market share rise. For the second quarter of 2024, the BTC production fell as a result of the increased global hash rate, the April halving event, and unexpected third-party equipment failures and transmission line maintenance. However, the company recorded its energized hash rate increasing 78% to 31.5 exahashes per second, up from 17.7 exahashes per second in Q2 2023. Revenue increased by 78% year-over-year.
To better align its internal structure with the pursuit of growth opportunities, the company was organized into three strategic business teams including Utility Scale Mining, Energy Harvesting, and Technology. It also diversified its portfolio of digital asset compute with the launch of Kaspa mining operations.
With an all-time high installed current hash rate of 31.5 exahashes per second, the strategic move towards a streamlined organization with three specialized business teams, Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) qualifies as one of the best cryptocurrency stocks to buy which was held by 16 hedge funds and Citadel Investment Group was the top shareholder, as of Q2 2024.
17. Bitfarms Ltd. (NASDAQ:BITF)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 16
Bitfarms Ltd. (NASDAQ:BITF) is a global Bitcoin self-mining company which was founded in 2017. The company runs vertically integrated mining operations with onsite technical repair, proprietary data analytics, and company-owned electrical engineering and installation services. The Bitcoin miner has a diversified production platform comprising 8 industrial-scale facilities in Canada, 2 in the United States, 1 in Argentina, and 3 in Paraguay. The firm’s data centers are powered by more than 75% renewable power.
Currently, Bitfarms serves as the only publicly traded crypto mining company audited by a Big Four accounting firm. The firm manages one of the largest internationally diversified portfolios of energy contracts in the Bitcoin data center business. It recently added 220 MW of capacity in Paraguay and Pennsylvania while it energized its 70 MW site in Paso Pe, the company’s largest site to date. Simultaneously, it stepped into the most attractive energy market in the US through its new site in Sharon while unlocking new opportunities beyond Bitcoin mining, such as HPC/AI. For the second quarter, Bitfarms had a hashrate of 11.1 exahashes per second, up from 6.5 exahashes per second in the first quarter. This implies that Bitfarms is implementing a robust growth strategy with a focus on US expansion and diversification from Bitcoin mining.
At the end of August, Bitfarms Ltd. (NASDAQ:BITF) revealed its plans to acquire Stronghold Digital Mining, Inc., a vertically integrated crypto asset mining company. This transformative acquisition is anticipated to potentially raise Bitfarm’s energy portfolio to over 950 MW by the end of 2025. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025.
Based on the aforementioned plans, the firm is well set to reach over 35 exahashes per second in 2025 which will be a 67% growth from 21 exahashes per second, the year-end target for 2024. With the appointment of Ben Gagnon as the Chief Executive Officer who has a prior 9-year full-time experience in the mining industry, Bitframs is positioned for accelerated growth through 2024. The firm’s impressive energy portfolio and strategic approach to growth rank it among some of the best crypto stocks to buy. As of Q2 2024, the stock was held by 16 hedge funds while Millennium Management was the most dominant shareholder.
16. CleanSpark, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLSK)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 20
CleanSpark, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLSK) develops infrastructure for Bitcoin. The Bitcoin miner owns and operates multiple data centers that primarily run on low-carbon power. The company uses a sustainable energy mix comprising nuclear, hydroelectric, solar, and wind to mine Bitcoin in a responsible manner.
CleanSpark, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLSK) has one of the highest current hashrates of 22.3 exahashes per second among other Bitcoin miners. The firm has a proven track record of strategic growth as evident by its 129% year-over-year revenue growth and 204% year-over-year hashrate growth from 3Q FY2023 to 3Q FY2024. It closed the fiscal third quarter of 2024 with a 24% increase in hashrate during the quarter.
In July, the firm officially expanded into new states such as Tennessee and Wyoming while it remains committed to replacing a substantial portion of its fleet before the miners approach the end of their originally expected life cycle thereby positioning itself as the most efficient large-scale publicly traded Bitcoin miner. The firm secured power agreements totaling 75 MW in Wyoming other than closing its first Bitcoin mining state site. It also began hashing in Tennessee per the terms of the company’s acquisition agreements with GRIID with 1 exahash per second of additional hashrate added in the month of July.
Currently, CleanSpark is trading at 23 times its forward earnings, a discount of 3.28% to the sector. As a key player in Bitcoin mining with a clean energy base, the firm has an impressive growth and efficiency record and ranks on our list. According to Insider Monkey’s Q2 data, the stock is held by 20 hedge funds. Citadel Investment Group is the dominant shareholder in the company with a position worth $61 million.
15. MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 26
MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) offers artificial intelligence-powered enterprise analytics software and services. The company claims to be the world’s first Bitcoin development company and focuses on the development of the Bitcoin network through activities in the financial markets, advocacy, and technology innovation. MicroStrategy’s Software Technology business remains its core revenue and cash flow generator.
As the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, MicroStrategy remains focused on its Bitcoin development strategy. Simultaneously, the firm is benefitting from the growing global adoption of its cloud-powered BI and AI software. The firm reported strong double-digit growth in both subscription revenue and subscription billing during the year’s second quarter. The firm is also leveraging high-profile institutions and individuals showing interest in Bitcoin. A downside the company is facing is the product licenses and subscription services revenues declining by 5.7% year-over-year.
In the software business, MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) is positioned as the largest independent publicly traded business intelligence company globally. The growing subscription services revenue during the second quarter driven by both existing customer migrations to the cloud and new customer wins, is evidence of the performance of this business. With customers moving to the cloud to empower their AI-driven digital transformations, the firm expects to see a decline in product license revenues and support revenues which will be offset by the rise in subscription services revenues.
The dynamics of shifting upfront product license revenues to subscription services revenues as the company migrates customers to the cloud might reduce revenue in the short term but will ultimately lead to engaged customers utilizing the firm’s latest software, higher retention rates, and more durable and recurring cloud revenues. In short, MicroStrategy continues to champion Bitcoin as a strategic treasury reserve asset while laying out a clear growth trajectory for the future. As of Q2, the stock is held by 26 hedge funds. Citadel Investment Group was the top shareholder with a stake worth $1.9 billion.
14. TeraWulf Inc. (NASDAQ:WULF)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 37
TeraWulf Inc. (NASDAQ:WULF) is an infrastructure-focused Bitcoin mining company that generates domestically produced Bitcoin powered primarily by nuclear and hydro energy. The company develops, owns, and operates fully integrated Bitcoin mining facilities across the United States. As of now, TeraWulf operates two bitcoin mining facilities including the Nautilus Cryptomine Facility in Pennsylvania which is directly powered by nuclear energy, and the Lake Mariner Facility in New York which utilizes more than 91% zero-carbon energy sourced from the grid.
TeraWulf’s extensive 600 megawatts of owned and scalable infrastructure serve as its competitive edge. The firm is one of the efficient public Bitcoin miners and digital infrastructure owners with a fleet efficiency of 23.7 joules per terrahash. TeraWulf Inc. (NASDAQ:WULF) has solidified its existing market position by utilizing its successful bitcoin mining as the foundation for strategically moving into alternative compute hosting. Financed by an industry-leading OEM, the Bitcoin miner committed to purchasing a 128 GPU cluster from NVIDIA in the recent quarter.
During July, the firm’s installed and operational self-mining capacity witnessed a 100% year-over-year increase and hit approximately 10 exahashes per second. For the overall second quarter, TeraWulf Inc. (NASDAQ:WULF) saw a 130.2% year-over-year revenue growth despite the April halving and successfully mined 699 bitcoins across its facilities. The revenue rise was due to the higher average bitcoin price growth relative to 2023 and growth in operating self-mining hashrate. Additionally, the completion of Building 4 at the wholly-owned facility Lake Mariner has increased the firm’s bitcoin mining infrastructure capacity to 245 MW while beginning the construction on Building 5 will contribute an additional 50 MW of infrastructure capacity by 2025’s first quarter.
The above strategic positioning and large-scale facilities have equipped TeraWulf to cater to the rising demand of the data center market. The firm’s focus on scalable zero-carbon energy infrastructure is a differentiating factor. The stock was held by 37 hedge funds at the end of Q2 which ranks it among the top cryptocurrency stocks to buy according to hedge funds.
13. Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 38
Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD) operates a financial services platform. The firm offers the lowest cost to trade crypto on average. It allows one to buy, hold, and sell popular cryptocurrencies and stablecoins including BTC, ETH, DOGE, SHIB, AVAX, LTC, UNI, ETC, LINK, XLM, and AAVE. Without being charged any deposit or withdrawal fees, one can transfer crypto from their Robinhood account to other crypto wallets. Other than cryptocurrency services, the company also provides brokerage services and clearing services.
Robinhood operates a distinct and commission-free business model which allows buying and selling stocks for free. The firm achieved new quarterly records for revenues and earnings per share in the year’s second quarter. Total net revenues climbed 40% year-over-year, with a 69% year-over-year rise in transaction-based revenues, a 161% rise in cryptocurrencies revenue, and a 60% rise in equities revenue. Net interest revenue was also up 22% as compared to last year. Robinhood recorded earnings per share of $0.2, beating EPS estimate by $0.06.
Furthermore, the firm reached a record 2 million subscribers. The firm’s announcement of the strategic acquisition of a globally-scaled crypto exchange Bitstamp in June and an AI-powered investment research platform Pluto Capital Inc. in July further demonstrate its roadmap to business expansion and growth.
Strong business results, delivery of profitable growth, and commission-free investing make Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD) a compelling choice for investors seeking exposure to the crypto industry. The company ranks among the 20 best cryptocurrency stocks to buy according to hedge funds since it is held by 38 hedge funds, as of Q2 2024. Thrive Capital stands as the most prominent shareholder in the company.
12. Iris Energy Limited (NASDAQ:IREN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 38
Iris Energy Limited (NASDAQ:IREN) owns, builds, and operates data centers and electrical infrastructure to mine Bitcoin. The company’s business model has been built on sustainably-mined Bitcoin. The founders Dan and Will saw a chance to capitalize on excess renewable energy and support energy networks while having an early conviction on Bitcoin. As a sustainable Bitcoin miner, the company’s sites are powered by 100% renewable energy. The company’s facilities are optimized for Bitcoin mining, AI cloud services, and other power-dense compute.
Iris Energy Limited (NASDAQ:IREN) holds a unique position in an emerging market by using low-cost excess renewable energy to keep costs low, support communities, and solve the energy market challenges. It has a solid portfolio comprising 260MW of operating data centers while it has plans to expand to 510MW in 2024. Recently in July, the company secured an additional 150MW of immediately available power capacity at its Childress site which raised its total secured grid-connected power capacity to 2,310MW. Among its peers, Iris qualifies as a large-scale miner with its strong Bitcoin mining hashrate.
For the full year ended June 30, Iris saw growth across its revenue, earnings, and cash flow. Driven by the growth in operating hashrate and higher Bitcoin prices, record Bitcoin mining revenue of $184.1 million was reported relative to the $75.5 million in 2023. As compared to 3,259 Bitcoin mined in fiscal year 2023, a record 4,191 Bitcoin were mined. Hence, Iris is on track to reach 30 exahashes per second by the last quarter of 2024 which demonstrates the future growth potential.
As a leading next-generation data center business powering the future of Bitcoin and AI with a strong market position and the potential for continuous growth, Iris Energy Limited is one of the largest publicly listed Bitcoin miners. As of Q2, the stock is held by 38 hedge funds. Castle Hook Partners is the dominant shareholder in the company with a position worth $77.5 million.
11. Coinbase Global, Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 45
Coinbase Global, Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) offers an online platform for buying, selling, saving, earning, transferring, and using cryptocurrency. With a mission to improve economic freedom for over 1 billion people, the firm allows them to engage with crypto assets. Coinbase Global also provides critical infrastructure for onchain activity and support builders.
Comprising 245,000 ecosystem partners in over 100 countries, Coinbase truly powers the cryptoeconomy. The firm consistently invests to make crypto seamless for both consumers and developers while showing strong progress during the year’s second quarter, the sixth consecutive quarter of positive adjusted EBITDA. Primarily driven by stablecoin revenue and blockchain rewards revenue, growth across the board was witnessed. The firm achieved success in diversifying revenue streams. Although transaction revenue was down 27% from last quarter, subscription and services revenue was found to be at an all-time high, growing 17% quarter-over-quarter to $599 million. The firm also reduced the Base fees in the quarter which resulted in 300% quarter-over-quarter growth in the number of transactions on Base.
Coinbase is making efforts to make crypto easier to use in a world where not everyone knows about its technical details. The firm’s Smart Wallet launch helps people onboard within seconds by using passkeys typically through a biometric like a thumbprint on a mobile device rather than previously having to remember a 12-word passphrase which they would forget or lose.
With a focus on solving customer pain points in the crypto world, operating one of the most trusted platforms for managing crypto globally, and continuous strides in broadening product offering which again makes crypto easier to use, Coinbase Global, Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) looks forward to increasing global transaction flow on crypto rails. As of Q2 2024, the stock was held by 45 hedge funds thereby ranking it among some of the best cryptocurrency stocks while Citadel Investment Group was the most dominant shareholder.
10. Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBKR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 52
Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBKR) is a multinational brokerage firm headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, and has offices in the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Switzerland, Hungary, India, China (Hong Kong and Shanghai), Japan, Singapore, and Australia. The firm was founded by its Chairman Thomas Peterffy in 1977. Direct access trade execution and clearing services are provided by the brokerage firm to institutional and professional traders for electronically traded products such as crypto, futures, options, stocks, currencies, bonds, gold, and funds.
Being in its 47th year of operation, Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBKR) has evolved to become a global firm for global investors. The firm along with its affiliates executes approximately 2,350,000 trades per day. It works as a professional’s gateway to the global market with clients from over 200 countries investing globally. Interactive Brokers Group capitalizes on the current trend towards global investing across countries and product types. During the second quarter, the firm saw strong account growth, both institutional and individual, to its platform and successfully added 178,000 new accounts.
The firm’s net interest income reached a record in the quarter so did the pretax income. Commissions rose to $406 million while higher trading volumes were witnessed from the growing base of active customers. Another milestone for the brokerage firm was its reported pretax profit margin reaching at an industry-leading 72%. Over the past 5 years, Interactive Brokers Group has grown its revenue by 19.80% and its net income by 33.10%. This reflects the robust financial performance of the company.
A seamless global access to various securities for both institutional and individual investors, a solid market capitalization of $53.75 billion in the investment banking and brokerage industry, and a unique platform that has earned it recognition as a top broker deem Interactive Brokers Group a top crypto stock. As of the second quarter of 2024, the stock is held by 52 hedge funds. Orbis Investment Management was the company’s leading stakeholder.
9. Core Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ:CORZ)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 53
Core Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ:CORZ) is a leader in digital infrastructure for bitcoin mining and high-performance computing. The firm was founded in 2017 and has scaled its operations over the years to be the first digital asset miner in North America to achieve 100, 250, and 500 megawatts of operating capacity. Other than engaging in Bitcoin mining, Core Scientific offers hosting services for Bitcoin mining by housing its customers’ miners in the same data centers in which it self-mines. The firm’s eight operational data centers include 2 in Georgia, 1 in Kentucky, 1 in North Carolina, 1 in North Dakota, and 3 in Texas.
Being one of the largest bitcoin miners in North America, Core Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ:CORZ) is in a good market position. The firm receives the majority of its revenue from earning bitcoin for its own account also known as self-mining. The Bitcoin miner recently secured long-term HPC hosting contracts totaling 382 megawatts, an opportunity with anticipated potential revenue of approximately $6.7 billion over 12 years. Hence, Core Scientific is well-positioned for market leadership and growth.
Quarter 2 highlights of the firm include securing total revenue of $141 million, earning 1,680 bitcoins, operating 19.4 exahashes per second self-mining hash rate, and adding 72 megawatts of infrastructure at the Denton, Texas data center. The firm has also reported HPC hosting as a separate segment which reflects its growth driving ability for the business. The status of successfully earning more bitcoin since 2021 than any other public company in North America and its strong industry position ranks Core Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ:CORZ) among some of the best cryptocurrency stocks. Core Scientific has 59 hedge fund holders, as of Q2 2024.
8. CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 59
CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) is a leading derivatives marketplace that allows its clients to trade futures, options, cash, and OTC markets. It is made up of four exchanges including CME, CBOT, NYMEX, and COMEX, each of which offers a range of global benchmarks across all major asset classes. The firm was established in 1848 as the world’s first futures exchange which was based in Chicago. In the cryptocurrency spectrum, the firm enables managing cryptocurrency exposure with Bitcoin, Micro Bitcoin, Ether, and Micro Ether futures and options.
CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) has a highly diverse product set which makes the firm strong enough to navigate changing macroeconomic situations. The firm has the privilege of being the only exchange globally that gives customers global electronic access to all benchmark products across Energy, Metals, Agricultural, and Environmental markets. Furthermore, the growing need for risk management has enabled CME Group to drive a strong financial performance.
CME Group recorded an all-time record revenue of $1.5 billion for the fiscal second quarter of 2024. The highest Q2 average daily volume (ADV) in company history, 25.9 million contracts, was successfully accomplished. This includes non-U.S. average daily volume which hit a record 7.8 million contracts. The firm also witnessed year-over-year growth across every asset class. Thus, the company leverages the growing need for risk management to drive a strong financial performance.
As of 2024’s second quarter, the stock is held by 59 hedge funds which makes it a part of the 20 best cryptocurrency stocks to buy according to hedge funds. GuardCap Asset Management is the dominant shareholder in the company with a position worth approximately $698 million.
7. Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 59
Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) is a technology company which has a focus on financial services. It is made up of Square, Cash App, Spiral, TIDAL, and TBD, all of which help people navigate the barriers to accessing the economy. Square offers an integrated ecosystem of commerce solutions, business software, and banking services for sellers to grow their business while Cash App allows sending, spending, or investing money in stocks or bitcoin. Spiral advances the use of Bitcoin by building and funding free, open-source projects whereas TIDAL is a platform for musicians and their fans. TBD eases access to Bitcoin and other blockchain technologies.
The firm delivered a strong second quarter with its gross profit going up 20% year-over-year. Square gross profit increased 15% year-over-year while Cash App gross profit climbed 23% year-over-year thereby depicting the strength of these key businesses. Adjusted EBITDA nearly doubled over the year and adjusted operating income was up 16 folds year-over-year. Recently, Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) has decided to reorganize its reporting structure by function for improved collaboration across the different ecosystems. For the 12 months ending in June 2024, Block had $1.43 billion in adjusted free cash flow, almost doubling from the preceding year.
The company’s potential for continued growth and profitability as mentioned above, its ability to generate substantial free cash flow, and its strategic shift to functional organizational structure make it attractive for investors. Block has 59 hedge fund holders, as of Q2 2024. Catherine D. Wood’s ARK Investment Management was the leading shareholder among these hedge funds.
6. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 75
The American technology company Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) manufactures, markets, and sells computing and related products and services across the world. The firm operates through segments including Client Computing Group, Data Center and AI, Network and Edge, Mobileye, and Intel Foundry. The tech giant previously launched a chip for blockchain applications such as Bitcoin mining and minting NFTs. This energy-efficient chip was referred to as a blockchain accelerator and was made to speed up blockchain tasks that needed significant amounts of computing power.
As the world becomes increasingly digital, the firm is uniquely positioned to capitalize. In the words of the company, the competitive advantage that makes Intel stand out is the breadth and depth of software, silicon, and platforms, and packaging and process with manufacturing at scale. Intel has moved beyond a PC-centric company to cater to the needs of the data-centric world. It operates as a dominant provider of silicon globally and a prominent semiconductor manufacturer.
Intel’s second quarter didn’t go quite well with revenue declining by 1% year-over-year and earnings missing expectations. The company is trying to regain its leadership in process technology through an announced $10 billion cost reduction plan. This plan is based on reducing operating expenses, reducing capital expenditures, reducing the cost of sales, and maintaining core investments to execute strategy. To prioritize liquidity, the firm is also reducing 15% of the workforce while suspending the dividend starting in the fourth quarter.
Despite the recent financial performance, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is making efforts to strengthen its position in the market and improve its profitability. At the same time, it is important to consider that the firm continues to be a world-class semiconductor manufacturer and a tech leader. As of Q2, the stock is held by 75 hedge funds. Citadel Investment Group is the dominant shareholder in the company with a position worth $742 million.
5. PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 87
PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) enables digital payments on behalf of merchants and consumers globally. The firm was founded as the world’s first digital payment platform and has been revolutionizing commerce globally for over 25 years. It classifies its revenues into two categories, transaction revenues and revenues from other value-added services. PayPal entered the crypto domain in October 2020 when it launched a new service to enable people to hold, buy, and sell cryptocurrency.
PayPal has a unique advantage that is difficult to replicate. It stands as one of the only players with both sides of the network, consumer as well as merchant, at scale globally. The firm continues to build more omnichannel capabilities while bringing more value-added services for consumers and merchants to the table. Apart from the distinctiveness and the motivation to drive long-term growth, the firm has strong financial results to offer.
Highlights from the fiscal second quarter include net revenues increasing 8% to $7.9 billion, transaction margin dollars increasing 8% to $3.6 billion, total payment volume increasing 11% to $416.8 billion, and payment transactions increasing 8% to 6.6 billion. The firm recorded its best transaction margin dollar growth since 2021. As of year-end 2023, PayPal has 426 million active consumer and merchant accounts, $1.53 trillion total payment volume, and 25 billion payment transactions. Hence, PayPal is positioned well for long-term durable, and profitable growth.
Based on the strength across PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL), the company has also raised its guidance for growth in transaction margin dollars and earnings per share. The firm operates in a $6 trillion-plus global e-commerce market that benefits from the current digitization of payments and is hence, poised to grow. As of Q2 2024, PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) was held by 87 hedge funds thereby ranking on our list. Citadel Investment Group was the top shareholder with a stake worth $469 million.
4. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 108
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) serves as the high-performance and adaptive computing leader. The firm was founded as a Silicon Valley startup in 1969. It manufactures computing equipment, including GPUs, commonly used in Bitcoin mining. The firm operates through multiple segments including Data Center, Client, Gaming, and Embedded.
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) is effectively managing the aforementioned segments together. Due to the data center segment revenue growing 115% year-over-year to a record $2.8 billion, the company reported strong revenue and earnings growth during the fiscal second quarter. The reduction in gaming and embedded product sales was offset by the sales of the data center and client processors. With data center product sales accounting for almost 50% of overall sales during the quarter, EPS grew by 19%. Hence, the strong data center and client segment performance has positioned the firm to deliver accelerated revenue in the year’s second half.
The leadership product portfolio, expanding customer and partner ecosystem, and strong financial performance make the stock promising. Over the preceding 5 years, the firm has successfully raised its top line by 31.70% and its bottom line by 47.95%. As of Q2, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) is held by 108 hedge funds while Fisher Asset Management is the largest shareholder in the company with a stake worth $3.7 billion.
3. Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 142
Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is a global payment technology solutions company that serves consumers, small and medium businesses, government and public sector, large enterprises, as well as banks and credit unions. The firm has been making payments smarter and safer for more than 50 years. Mastercard’s purpose revolves around powering an inclusive digital economy that tends to benefit all.
With a global network, the firm has made crypto accessible. In 2022, Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) introduced Crypto Source to enable financial institutions to bring secure crypto trading services to their customers. In May, Mastercard allowed crypto exchange users to send and receive crypto using their Mastercard Crypto Credential aliases rather than a long blockchain. This allows cross-border and domestic transfers for users in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, France, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and Uruguay across multiple currencies and blockchains.
Mastercard serves as a payments industry leader which has material results to offer. With double-digit net revenue and earnings growth, the firm successfully ended another quarter. Driven by the growth in the payment network and value-added services and solutions, net revenue went up by 11%. The cross-border volume growth of 17% year-over-year and healthy consumer spending supported the company’s results across all business aspects. It continues to position itself for long-term growth by differentiating its products and solutions and diversifying its revenue streams. Back in April, the firm announced an organizational structure realignment centered on three interdependent areas Core Payments, Commercial and New Payment Flows, and Services. While Core Payments works as the company’s foundation, Mastercard finds a scalable opportunity in Payment and data flows beyond consumer card payments. Simultaneously, offerings from Mastercard’s current Cyber & Intelligence, Data & Services, and Open Banking teams remain integrated under Services.
The strong business fundamentals, a diversified business model with healthy consumer spending, established demand for value-added services, and the persistent shift to digital forms of payment place Mastercard in a good market position. As of Q2 2024, the stock is held by 142 hedge funds thereby becoming one of the best cryptocurrency stocks to buy according to hedge funds. Akre Capital Management was the top shareholder with a stake worth $1.7 billion.
2. Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 163
Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) facilitates transactions between merchants, consumers, government entities, and financial institutions across more than 200 markets. The company’s journey started in 1958 when the Bank of America introduced the first consumer credit card program in the United States. It was in 2007 that Visa formed a global corporation and eventually went public in 2008 in one of the largest IPOs.
As a leader in digital payments, Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) powers the global economy. The company connects 4 billion account holders to more than 130 million merchants, 14,500 financial institutions, and governments across its markets. Among its peers operating in the broader transaction and payment processing services, Visa has a significant market capitalization of $521.86 billion.
In the crypto domain, the firm has a leading payment network to offer with over 65 crypto wallet partners. With the vision of supporting digital currency as the asset class grows, Visa’s crypto solutions and capabilities help one capitalize on the increasing interest in crypto. While Visa Onchain Analytics helps understand the movement of stablecoin transactions across blockchains, the company enables crypto holders to securely pay with Visa at more than 100 million merchants globally. Crypto-related fraud can also be minimized through best-in-class solutions from Visa.
With net revenue growth of 10% and GAAP EPS growth of 20%, Visa closed a good fiscal third quarter of the year. The key business drivers during the quarter include payments volume up 7%, processed transactions up 10%, and cross-border volume up 14%, on a year-over-year basis. In conclusion, the firm has a lot to offer through its globally spread reach, brand value, financial strength, and its leading market position. As of Q2, Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) is held by 163 hedge funds. TCI Fund Management was the largest shareholder in the company with a stake worth $4 billion.
1. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 179
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), the pioneer of GPU-accelerated computing, specializes in products and platforms for the gaming, professional visualization, data center, and automotive markets. The chip maker is known for its GPU technology which is utilized in crypto mining and makes it an important company in the crypto space.
The recent development from NVIDIA made the firm outshine as it unveiled the Blackwell GPU architecture at NVIDIA GTC 2024. Blackwell is the largest GPU ever built with 208 billion transistors which is more than 2.5 times the amount of transistors in NVIDIA Hopper GPUs, thereby unlocking a new era of accelerated computing and generative AI. While customers are currently gearing up to adopt Blackwell which has been widely sampled, the firm expects to ship several billion dollars in Blackwell revenue in Q4.
For the second quarter ended July 28, NVIDIA reported a record quarterly revenue of $30 billion, up 122% year-over-year, and well above the firm’s outlook of $28 billion. Data Center revenue was also at a record $26.3 billion, increasing by 154% as compared to the prior year. This increase was attributable to the strong demand for NVIDIA Hopper, GPU computing, and its networking platforms. Simultaneously, compute revenue increased by more than 2.5 times and networking revenue rose by more than 2 times relative to 2023.
The company also expects its sovereign AI revenue to hit low-double-digit billions this year, fueled by AI-powered chatbots and generative AI copilots. It is working with many Fortune 100 companies on AI initiatives across geographies and industries. An example of this is SAP using NVIDIA to build dual Co-pilots. During the recent quarter, the company made a major stride in enterprise AI by introducing a new NVIDIA AI foundry service to supercharge generative AI for enterprises with Meta’s Llama 3.1.
According to Insider Monkey’s Q2 data, NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is held by 179 hedge funds, compared to 186 funds in the prior quarter. Citadel Investment Group is the dominant shareholder in the company with a position worth $18 billion.
While we acknowledge the potential of NVDA as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some deeply undervalued AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for a deeply undervalued AI stock that is more promising than the ones mentioned on our list but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: $30 Trillion Opportunity: 15 Best Humanoid Robot Stocks to Buy According to Morgan Stanley and Jim Cramer Says NVIDIA ‘Has Become A Wasteland’.
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