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What were the top Canadian blockchain stocks of 2020? Here’s a look at the top five risers and what may have moved their share prices.
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The blockchain industry continues to mature, and in 2020 it got a boost from Bitcoin interest.
Prices for the cryptocurrency took off last year, drawing investors back into the space. From the start of 2020 to the end of the 12 month period, Bitcoin rose about 300 percent, closing at just over US$29,000.
Unsurprisingly, some companies focused on blockchain technology went along for the ride, enjoying share price momentum in the last several months of the year, when Bitcoin prices were rocketing higher.
Here’s a look at the five top Canadian blockchain stocks by performance in 2020. All figures were obtained using TradingView’s stock screener on January 4, 2021; the companies listed had market caps of at least C$10 million at that time and were trading on either the CSE, TSXV or TSX.
1. HIVE Blockchain Technologies (TSXV:HIVE)
Year-to-date gain: 2,338.1 percent; current share price: C$2.55
HIVE Blockchain Technologies produces digital currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum at its green energy-powered facilities in Canada, Sweden and Iceland. According to the company, it gives its shareholders exposure to the operating margins of digital currency mining, plus a portfolio of crypto-coins.
HIVE’s major 2020 share price rise really got going in mid-November, when the company entered into a non-binding, exclusive memorandum of understanding to potentially buy GPU Atlantic from GPU.One Holding. The company said at the time that the purchase would provide it with a 50 megawatt campus in the Canadian province of New Brunswick.
The highest point of the year for HIVE came on December 22, when it reached C$2.86. It has not yet shared further news about the GPU Atlantic deal.
2. Galaxy Digital Holdings (TSX:GLXY)
Year-to-date gain: 1,009.6 percent; current share price: C$11.54
Galaxy Digital Holdings describes itself as a diversified financial services and investment management innovator in the digital asset, cryptocurrency and blockchain technology sectors.
The top Canadian blockchain stock released a slew of news over the course of last year. One of its share price high points came on August 31, when it hit C$4.94, while another was C$7.12 on November 23. The November spike came not long Galaxy announced the expansion of its cryptocurrency trading business with the acquisition of DrawBridge Lending and Blue Fire Capital.
The highest point for Galaxy in 2020 was C$11.60 on December 30. The company’s last piece of news for the year came in mid-December, when it said its affiliate will be serving as the sub-advisor to the CI Galaxy Bitcoin Fund (TSX:BTCG.U,TSX:BTCG.UN).
3. Blockchain Foundry (CSE:BCFN)
Year-to-date gain: 700 percent; current share price: C$0.43
Blockchain Foundry provides companies with blockchain consulting, development and integration solutions with the goal of helping them use blockchain technologies to solve business problems.
The company saw a share price uptick over the summer, reaching C$0.25 on July 31. That month, Blockchain Foundry partnered with Binance to release BUSD, a stablecoin issued by Binance and Paxos, on the Syscoin network. It also partnered with Matic Network to examine interoperability between the Syscoin and Matic networks. Aside from that spike, Blockchain Foundry rose steeply in December, reaching as high as C$0.40, although it didn’t share any news that month.
4. DMG Blockchain Solutions (TSXV:DMGI)
Year-to-date gain: 468.42 percent; current share price: C$0.55
DMG Blockchain Solutions describes itself as a diversified cryptocurrency and blockchain platform company with two main areas of interest: mining public blockchains and applying permissioned blockchain technology. It believes these are the two main opportunities in the sector.
DMG’s share price began to rise in earnest in mid-November, hitting a high point of C$0.30 that month. The company’s climb continued into the next month and reached C$0.73, its apex for the year, on December 17. In early November, DMG added HIVE as a hosting client and sold 1,240 M30s miners to HIVE in an all-cash transaction worth US$3.4 million. December news from the company included the closing of a non-brokered private placement for gross proceeds of just over $1 million.
5. Bitfarms (TSXV:BITF)
Year-to-date gain: 393.88 percent; current share price: C$2.41
Blockchain infrastructure company Bitfarms operates one of North America’s largest cryptocurrency mining operations. The company has five hydropower-operated facilities in Quebec, Canada, and provides computing power to cryptocurrency networks such as Bitcoin, earning fees from these networks for securing and processing transactions.
Like many of the other top Canadian blockchain stocks listed here, Bitfarms’ share price took off toward the end of 2020. It reached its high point of the year on December 22 at C$2.93. That day, the company deployed 1,000 new Whatsminer M31S mining rigs, and placed an order for an additional 3,000 Whatsminer M31S+ miners for delivery in late February 2021; Bitfarms said at the time that the additions will “significantly boost computing power.” On December 29, Bitfarms closed the year by announcing management and board changes to prepare for further growth in 2021.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.