Crypto mining ETF, which jumped 133% in first 4-months of trading, announces liquidation

Viridi Funds announced that the Viridi Cleaner Energy Crypto-Mining & Semiconductor ETF (NYSEARCA:RIGZ) will liquidate and de-list from the New York Stock Exchange.

RIGZ was actively managed and provided market participants with exposure to the cryptocurrency mining industry and indirect exposure to crypto-assets such as Bitcoin (BTC-USD) and Ethereum (ETH-USD).

RIGZ, which jumped out of the gates with a 15% rally in its first 48 hours of trading, caught a wave of upward momentum from the crypto craze. The fund soared 133% in its first four months of trading, alongside Bitcoin’s peak.

However, since the fund topped out at $56.63 a share on Nov. 9, 2021, it has plummeted to $4.07 a share. This equates to a 92.8% plunge.

RIGZ, with its 0.90% expense ratio, has been bogged down in 2022 amid the general crypto collapse. Some of its top holdings include Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ:RIOT), CleanSpark (CLSK), Bitfarms (BITF), and Hut 8 Mining Corp. (HUT), which have all cratered in 2022. Year-to-date and RIOT is -82.6%, CLSK -79.6%, BITF -90.7% and HUT -88.2%.

RIGZ will cease trading and will be closed to purchase additional shares by investors as of the close on Jan. 4, 2023.

Regarding its liquidation, Viridi Funds noted in a press release: “The fund will liquidate its assets and distribute cash pro rata to all shareholders of record who have not previously redeemed or sold their shares, subject to any required withholding.”

That's exactly what crypto reminds me of.

Far more to it than that. Your analogy is akin to comparing the inner workings of a steam engine to a rock. Comparing the two shows a severe lack of knowledge on the subject, and a complete unwillingness to learn. That's fine, that's your thing, go to it.

On the flip side, learning more about exactly what it is and how it works will give you a better understanding that crypto, however volatile and untested at this point in the game, is around to stay. The market will "correct" itself to more reasonable levels, and it will likely take a while to bring the masses of investors back, but it is a part of the future. One mistake most folks make is to think that somehow it's investing in nothing. Not true at all. When one invests in crypto, they are truly investing in the underlying blockchain technology.

Interesting stuff, really. Then again, I am a geek.

IMHO, blockchain is nothing more than what we used to call distributed encryption in my younger programmer days. I'm not saying there's zero application for blockchain or no market for it. I can see some uses for it. And I can even see an overall increase in popularity in the future of people using it for more than just crypto (as you pointed out) and more than what I experienced years ago (when we called it distributed encryption).

I just don't see it becoming THAT popular in actual use THAT much to account for the insane price levels the blockchain nerds make it out to be. Like I said, the technology has been around for a while (under a different name) and for whatever reason virtually no one has thought it worth putting to actual use except for the big nothingburger use that crypto currency is.

At least, that's how I view it. But then again, as I point out to my young adult "kids" who think blockchain is better than the invention of the electric guitar, I can't explain a phenomenon like Starbucks either. The only way blockchain can become uber popular and used heavily like they think it will is if someone can think of creative ways to market it like Starbucks figured out creative ways to make young adults think slurping a latte (which Starbucks didn't even invent) is somehow new and totally awesome and different and the consumer is more hip for drinking it if they buy it from Starbucks.

So you can't sell me on investing into blockchain technology based on the technology itself (been there done that). The only way it can get my attention as an investor is if you can tell me how it'll be marketed in a catchier way than the nothingburger of crypto currency.

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