NODE Monthly Commentary: June 2026
06 July 2026
Read Time 8 MIN
Please note that VanEck may have a position(s) in the digital asset(s) and companies described below.
Key Takeaways
- NODE beat crypto but trailed equities: NODE returned -8.1% in June, with shares easing from $47.07 to $43.32. NODE topped Bitcoin (-20.3%), Ethereum (-21.9%), and the MVDAPP crypto-equity index (-14.9%), but lagged the S&P 500 (-1.1%) and Nasdaq 100 (-0.2%) in a month that punished crypto beta.
- Miners and crypto-linked names drove the drawdown: The spot bitcoin ETP (-17.8%), IREN (-27.7%), Figure (-23.4%), Applied Digital (-20.1%), and Circle (-32.8%) led the detractors, draining about 533 bps combined. Gains were narrow, with the top 5 positions adding roughly 114 bps.
- Risk stayed elevated as the book tightened: NODE ran at 50.1% annualized volatility with a 13.2% peak-to-trough drawdown, and only 8 of 21 trading days were positive. We trimmed the book from 64 to 58 holdings, and AUM fell from $81.4M to $74.0M.
Click here for NODE Standardized Performance
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate; shares may be worth more or less than original cost when redeemed. Current performance may be lower or higher. Call 800.826.2333 or visit vaneck.com for month-end performance.
This commentary reflects the views of the portfolio management team as of June 30, 2026, and should not be construed as investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Past performance does not guarantee future results; the Fund’s YTD return was 24.84% (NAV) through June 2026, and investors should consider this alongside any monthly figures presented herein.
Monthly Review
NODE declined 8.1% in June, with shares easing from $47.07 to $43.32 as the digital-asset complex sold off. Spot crypto led the move down, with Bitcoin off 20.3% and Ethereum 21.9%, while the mining and infrastructure names that powered May’s rally gave back ground. Even so, NODE outpaced crypto benchmarks by a wide margin, beating Bitcoin by roughly 12 percentage points, Ethereum by 14, and the MVDAPP digital-asset index by 7. It lagged broad equities, however, as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 each fell less than 2% and finished about 7 percentage points ahead of NODE. June reversed May’s pattern: in May NODE trailed only the MVDAPP index; in June it cleared all three crypto benchmarks but fell behind the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, which held up far better in a month that punished crypto beta.
| June 2026 Returns | Return (%) | Volatility (ann.) (%) | Max Drawdown (%) |
| NODE | -8.1 | 50.1 | -13.2 |
| S&P 500 | -1.1 | 17.3 | -4.5 |
| Nasdaq 100 | -0.2 | 32.4 | -7.0 |
| Bitcoin | -20.3 | 40.8 | -17.8 |
| Ethereum | -21.9 | 64.4 | -22.2 |
| MVDAPP (crypto eq.) | -14.9 | 60.9 | -16.0 |
Source: Bloomberg. As of 6/30/2026. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Not intended as a recommendation to buy or sell any securities named herein. Index performance is not illustrative of fund performance. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.
Biggest Winners and Losers
Miners and crypto-linked names drove the drawdown. Our spot bitcoin ETP cost 147 bps (-17.8%), followed by miner IREN (-27.7%, -139 bps), Figure (-23.4%, -92 bps), Applied Digital (-20.1%, -85 bps), and stablecoin issuer Circle (-32.8%, -71 bps). Those five detractors drained about 533 bps. Gains were narrow, led by Cipher Mining (+5.0%, +30 bps), GPGI (+27.8%, +24 bps), WYFI (+21.2%, +21 bps), Sei (+14.0%, +20 bps), and the newly added Inio (+19 bps). All together, the top five added roughly 114 bps combined.
| Top 5 Contributors | Return (%) | Contribution (bps) | Outperformance Notes |
| CIFR US Equity | 5.0 | 29.5 | Performance was anchored by strong valuation of three secured leases (we est. >$9/share in equity value) and a high takeout premium on similar sites in the space, along with progress toward ERCOT’s Batch Zero approval, where the company holds a substantial power opportunity (~2 GW). The company also hired a former ERCOT Director as Head of Grid Strategies and held its annual shareholder meeting, which resulted in an approved say-on-pay vote of >80%. |
| GPGI US Equity | 27.8 | 24.1 | Insider buying, including a CIO purchase of $1M in shares. |
| WYFI US Equity | 21.2 | 21.3 | Outperformance was led by investors gaining greater appreciation for the value of the company’s anchor nScale contract, which we valued at >$1B in equity value, along with incremental smaller wins expected in the pipeline. We see execution of this deal opening the door to an incremental ~2x expansion with nScale as the company considers a potential IPO. |
| SEI US Equity | 14.0 | 20.2 | As a key supplier to the xAI Colossus data center, Solaris rose on expectations of more turbine orders. |
| INIO US Equity | 46.4 | 18.7 | Newly added gas-engine / distributed-power name (Jenbacher, Waukesha) that priced an upsized $2.43B IPO at $27 on June 3 and opened at $31, riding strong demand for AI data-center power “picks and shovels.” |
Source: Bloomberg. As of 6/30/2026. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Not intended as a recommendation to buy or sell any securities named herein. Other assets held by the fund may have performed differently during the period.
| Bottom 5 Contributors | Return (%) | Contribution (bps) | Underperformance Notes |
| Bitcoin | (17.8) | (146.5) | Spot Bitcoin fell amid concerns over Strategy’s financial stability that could result in sales of its 847k BTC holdings, and continued ETF exodus ($4.1B in outflows). |
| IREN US Equity | (27.7) | (139.4) | Shares fell through June as a Q3 revenue miss and a convertible note offering in May have yet to be followed by incremental deal announcements. Competitive pressures and opportunities across AI cloud have led investors to rotate elsewhere, with the market demanding execution, not just ambition, before rewarding the stock for its large energized-power capacity footprint. |
| FIGR US Equity | (23.4) | (91.8) | Pressured by concerns about take-rate declines and mortgage-volume assumptions as it moves into first-lien HELOCs, compounded by continued CEO and CFO insider selling. |
| APLD US Equity | (20.1) | (84.6) | Despite adding a tenant ahead of schedule at Delta Forge 2 (210 MW) and securing >$2B via a revolver and senior secured notes during the month, shares traded off as the market shifts focus to execution, with the company now carrying a meaningful backlog of contracted power to deliver (>1.4 GW of critical IT load). With >70% of contracted revenue now backed by investment-grade customers and an estimated ~$13B in equity value on contracted leases alone, we see opportunity as proven execution in 2H serves as the next catalyst. |
| CRCL US Equity | (32.8) | (70.9) | Sagged the most in June as crypto prices declined, and spiked lower on the June 30 launch of Open USD by the 140+ firm Open Standard consortium, a reserve-revenue-sharing stablecoin that directly threatens Circle’s economic model. |
Source: Bloomberg. As of 6/30/2026. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Not intended as a recommendation to buy or sell any securities named herein. Other assets held by the fund may have performed differently during the period.
Portfolio Changes
We consolidated the book from 64 names to 58, exiting 9 positions and adding 3. Exits included Broadridge, BWXT, Alliance Resource Partners, Cerebras, BitMine, Mirion, and the Korean industrials Doosan Enerbility and HD Hyundai Electric. New positions were SoFi, Inio, and DPC. AUM (assets under management) fell from $81.4M to $74.0M over the month.
June Risk and Return Summary
NODE ran at 50.1% annualized volatility in June, above Bitcoin at 40.8%, the Nasdaq 100 at 32.4%, and the S&P 500 at 17.3% but below crypto equity benchmarks such as MVDAPP. The fund saw a 13.2% peak-to-trough drawdown, and only 8 of 21 trading days were positive.
NODE moved almost in lockstep with the MVDAPP index at 0.98 correlation but, unusually, tracked equities more tightly (0.79 to the S&P 500, 0.81 to the Nasdaq 100) than Bitcoin (0.64) this month.
| June 2026 Performance | Return (%) | Vol (ann.) (%) | Max DD (%) |
| NODE | -8.1 | 50.1 | -13.2 |
| S&P 500 | -1.1 | 17.3 | -4.5 |
| Nasdaq 100 | -0.2 | 32.4 | -7.0 |
| Bitcoin | -20.3 | 40.8 | -17.8 |
| Ethereum | -21.9 | 64.4 | -22.2 |
| MVDAPP (crypto eq.) | -14.9 | 60.9 | -16.0 |
Source: Bloomberg. As of 6/30/2026. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Not intended as a recommendation to buy or sell any securities named herein. Index performance is not illustrative of fund performance. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.
| Correlation Matrix | NODE | S&P 500 | Nasdaq | Bitcoin | Ethereum | MVDAPP |
| NODE | 1.00 | 0.79 | 0.81 | 0.64 | 0.77 | 0.98 |
| S&P 500 | 0.79 | 1.00 | 0.94 | 0.47 | 0.69 | 0.76 |
| Nasdaq | 0.81 | 0.94 | 1.00 | 0.47 | 0.66 | 0.74 |
| Bitcoin | 0.64 | 0.47 | 0.47 | 1.00 | 0.88 | 0.66 |
| Ethereum | 0.77 | 0.69 | 0.66 | 0.88 | 1.00 | 0.79 |
| MVDAPP | 0.98 | 0.76 | 0.74 | 0.66 | 0.79 | 1.00 |
Source: Bloomberg. Daily returns, June 1–30, 2026. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Not intended as a recommendation to buy or sell any securities named herein. Index performance is not illustrative of fund performance. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.
Outlook
We remain constructive on AI infrastructure and tokenization while staying cautious on pure crypto beta. June was a reminder that mining and crypto-linked equities still carry real downside when spot sells off, even as they outperform the tokens themselves. We continue to lean into power and compute infrastructure and to manage concentration, with the top 5 positions at 31% of the book.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did NODE fall in June 2026?
NODE returned -8.1% in June as the digital-asset complex sold off, with bitcoin down 20.3% and ethereum down 21.9%. The mining and crypto-linked equities that led May’s rally gave back ground.
Did NODE outperform bitcoin in June 2026?
Yes. NODE beat bitcoin by roughly 12 percentage points, ethereum by about 14, and the MVDAPP crypto-equity index by about 7. It trailed broad equities, however, as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 each fell less than 2%.
Why are crypto mining stocks so volatile?
Mining and crypto-linked equities carry high beta to spot crypto prices. In June, NODE ran at 50.1% annualized volatility with a 13.2% peak-to-trough drawdown, and only 8 of 21 trading days were positive.
Quarterly Standardized Performance (6/30/2026)
| Performance | YTD | 1 YR | 3 YR | 5 YR | 10 YR | LIFE (5/13/25) |
| NODE (NAV) | 24.84 | 44.70 | -- | -- | -- | 55.72 |
| NODE (Market Price) | 24.60 | 44.29 | -- | -- | -- | 55.90 |
| MVIS Global Digital Assets Equity Index | 17.56 | 18.04 | -- | -- | -- | 44.32 |
* Returns less than one year are not annualized. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Not intended as a recommendation to buy or sell any securities named herein.
The performance data quoted represents past performance. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Performance may be lower or higher than performance data quoted. Please call 800.826.2333 or visit vaneck.com for performance current to the most recent month ended.
Fees - VanEck Onchain Economy ETF (NODE): Total Expense Ratio – 0.67%. Van Eck Absolute Return Advisers Corporation (the “Adviser” or “VEARA”) will pay all expenses of the Fund (inclusive of any Subsidiary (as defined below) expenses), except for the fee payment under the investment management agreement, acquired fund fees and expenses, interest expense, offering costs, trading expenses, taxes and extraordinary expenses. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Adviser has agreed to pay the offering costs until at least May 1, 2027.
Referenced Holdings and Portfolio Weights (as of 6/30/2026)
| Referenced Holding | Portfolio Weight (%) |
| Cipher Mining (CIFR) | 6.24 |
| GPGI | 1.24 |
| WYFI | 1.37 |
| Sei (SEI) | 1.83 |
| Inio (INIO) | 1.32 |
| IREN | 3.99 |
| Figure (FIGR) | 3.95 |
| Applied Digital (APLD) | 3.69 |
| Circle (CRCL) | 1.38 |
| Bitcoin ETP | 7.21 |
| SoFi | 0.72 |
| DPC | 0.13 |
Source: VanEck. Portfolio weights as of 6/30/2026. Holdings are subject to change. Not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
Definitions:
Bitcoin (BTC) is the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
Ethereum (ETH) is a decentralized, open-source blockchain platform and the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
S&P 500 Index is a stock market index of 500 of the largest companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States.
The Nasdaq 100 Index is a stock market index that tracks the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
The MVIS Global Digital Assets Equity Index (MVDAPP) tracks the performance of companies involved in digital assets, including exchanges, mining, and related financial services, and is used herein as a reference for crypto equity performance.
Ann. Return: Annualized return; the compounded rate of return per year over the period.
Ann. Vol: Annualized volatility; the standard deviation of returns scaled to an annual figure, measuring price fluctuation.
Max DD (Maximum Drawdown): The largest peak-to-trough decline in value over the period.
Best Mo. (Best Month):The highest single-month return recorded during the period.
Worst Mo. (Worst Month): The lowest single-month return recorded during the period.
NAV (Net Asset Value): The per-share value of a fund's assets minus liabilities, calculated at end of day.
Beta: A measure of a portfolio's price sensitivity relative to a benchmark; 1.0 equals the benchmark's movement.
Correlation: A statistical measure of how two assets move in relation to one another, ranging from -1.0 (opposite directions) to 1.0 (the same direction); 0 indicates no linear relationship.
Basis Point (bps): One one-hundredth of one percent (0.01%); 100 basis points equal 1%.
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