Hut 8 and Core Scientific to Join Russell 3000 Index

Hut 8 and Core Scientific, U.S. bitcoin mining and data center operators, are set to join the Russell 3000 Index on July 1. This index tracks the largest 3,000 U.S.-domiciled public companies by market cap. According to FTSE Russell, a subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange Group, both companies are among the preliminary additions to the index, according to TheMinerMag.

The Russell 3000 Index is a key benchmark for tracking the performance of the broad U.S. equity market. Major financial institutions like Vanguard and BlackRock offer ETFs designed to follow the index closely. As of 2023, over $10 trillion in assets are benchmarked to the Russell U.S. indexes.  

Hut 8 joins the Russell 3000 Index for the first time after merging with USBTC and becoming a U.S.-domiciled operation. Core Scientific was first added in June 2022 but entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, emerging earlier this year.  

Driven by AI-related initiatives, Hut 8 and Core Scientific saw their market capitalizations rise to $1.4 billion and $1.8 billion, respectively, as of June 26. Both companies were also added to the Russell Microcap Index, indicating they are among the smallest 1,000 companies in the Russell 3000 by market cap. The Russell Microcap Index includes the smallest 1,000 companies in the Russell 3000 plus the next 1,000 smallest eligible securities.  

Other mining stocks added to the Microcap Index include Stronghold Digital Mining and Gryphon Digital Mining. This move underscores the growing significance of bitcoin mining operations in the broader financial market.