It’s still early in the year, but a noticeable divide is already forming within the tech sector. While the Magnificent Seven and former tech leaders have posted respectable gains, they are significantly outpaced by companies tied to the blockchain and digital asset ecosystem.
From Tuesday January 27 the Amplify Blockchain Technology ETF (BLOK) has jumped 11.78% year to date, according to Ycharts. By comparison, the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) – long considered the preferred indicator of technology exposure in the United States – increased only 2.83% over the same period.
This gap highlights where investors are currently finding momentum: not in mega-cap software, but in blockchain infrastructure.
Why BLOK outperforms
BLOK’s strong start can largely be attributed to its active approach and exposure to more dynamic segments of the digital asset market.
While XLK remains heavily focused on large-cap technology names such as Apple and Microsoft, BLOK benefits from several distinct performance drivers, including:
Crypto market recovery
Bitcoin and Ethereum have shown renewed strength in early 2026. Companies that support the broader crypto ecosystem – including exchanges, miners and infrastructure providers – often amplify these moves, behaving like leverage plays on the underlying digital assets.
Broader exposure to blockchain
BLOK’s underlying index is not limited to crypto-native companies. This also includes companies applying blockchain technology to enterprise use cases such as supply chain management, identity verification, and transaction security – areas that are seeing growing institutional adoption.
Less concentration, more participation on the rise
Unlike XLK, where performance can depend on a handful of large-cap stocks, BLOK spreads exposure across a broader group of smaller, faster-growing companies. This structure allows individual winners to contribute significantly to performance while avoiding excessive risk of concentration on a single name.
The main stocks fueling BLOK’s rally
At the end of January 2026, the following stocks were among the largest contributors to BLOK’s 11.78% year-to-date gain:
- Digital Galaxy (GLXY) — 5.00% of the weight. Galaxy provides investment banking, asset management and merchant banking services focused on digital assets, benefiting from renewed institutional activity in the crypto ecosystem.
- Hut 8 Corp. — 4.08% by weight. A major North American digital infrastructure provider, Hut 8 has expanded beyond bitcoin mining to high-performance computing and AI-driven data center hosting.
- CleanSpark (CLSK) — 3.77% by weight. A major Bitcoin miner known for its focus on sustainable energy and continuous improvement in hash rate efficiency.
- Robinhood Markets (HOOD) — 3.74% by weight. A key on-ramp for retail crypto investors, Robinhood has benefited from a strong rebound in digital asset trading volumes.
- Cipher Extraction (CIFR) — 3.73% by weight. An industrial-scale Bitcoin miner focused on low-cost power solutions and operational efficiency.
Key Themes to Watch
Mining stocks stand out as a major driver of performance, with three of the top five holdings directly tied to bitcoin production. These names tend to be high-beta expressions of cryptocurrency price movements, which helps explain BLOK’s ability to generate double-digit gains while broader tech ETFs lag.
At the same time, companies like Hut 8 and Galaxy Digital are no longer pure crypto stories. Their growing roles in AI infrastructure and data center services add a second growth story that resonates with investors.
Finally, BLOK’s active management proved to be an advantage. The fund was able to leverage outperforming infrastructure stocks while keeping individual positions capped at around 5%, avoiding the top-heavy exposure that characterizes many traditional technology ETFs.
For now, the market message is clear: By early 2026, blockchain-related stocks are setting the tone for the tech sector.
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VettaFi LLC (“VettaFi”) is BLOK’s index provider, for which it charges an index license fee. However, BLOK is not issued, sponsored, endorsed or sold by VettaFi, and VettaFi has no obligation or liability with respect to the issuance, administration, marketing or trading of BLOK.
