BLOK-Chain Monthly September 2025

Blockchain Technology Displaces Trust with Truth

Performance Highlights

BLOK is up 38.00% year-to-date (YTD), with August contributing another 1.05% (NAV returns, view standardized performance). July and August resembled digestion periods as markets absorbed strong news, but momentum from industry adoption and capital markets activity may continue to point toward an exciting fourth quarter.

Last month, we addressed the elephant in the room: Bitcoin’s role as the largest Blockchain (see link). This month, we are pleased to announce that in October we plan to change our fund name to the Amplify Blockchain Technology ETF. Our investment process will remain the same, but we believe this new name better communicates our value proposition to investors.

Blockchain: From Trust to Truth

We believe the phrase “Blockchain technology displaces trust with truth” is widely embraced in the crypto community, though it remains underappreciated in traditional finance (TradFi). Many in TradFi cling to the Reagan-era maxim: “Trust, but verify.” Blockchain automates that very principle — replacing antiquated systems with on-chain verification that reduces costs, increases transparency, and confirms transactions almost instantaneously.

At its core, Blockchain serves as an automated tri-party arrangement — an upgrade that makes transactions more secure, transparent, and efficient.

News Flow: Signs of Adoption

• Regulation: With Congress back in session, we believe further progress toward regulatory clarity. The ongoing dialogue around the Clarity Act is an encouraging step toward broader adoption.
• Nasdaq’s Tokenization Proposal: Nasdaq has submitted a proposal to the SEC to tokenize securities, laying the groundwork for 24/7 trading. This may represent a significant step toward broader market accessibility. (See links for full Q&A Explanation¹ and interview with Nasdaq’s CEO, Adena Friedman).²

The performance data quoted represents past performance and does not guarantee future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when sold or redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted. For most recent month-end performance, visit BLOKETF.com.

Capital Markets Activity

• Upcoming Initial Public Offering (IPO): Figure Technology Solutions (FIGR) and Gemini Space Station (GEMI) are expected to successfully launch this month.
• Pent-up Demand: Companies like Bullish (BLSH) and Circle (CRCL) generated short-term pops off their IPO prices, but our enthusiasm lies in the long-term infrastructure buildout these business models represent.
• Lockups: Coreweave (CRWV) and Circle Internet Group (CRCL) highlight how we manage lockup expirations. We exited CRWV before its lockup expired in June and are watching Circle closely given the dynamic stablecoin market, where partnerships will likely shape winners more than moats.
• Digital Asset Treasury Companies (DATs): Roughly 100 firms now hold around 1 million Bitcoin — approximately 4.83% of total issuance — with ambitions to double that share. Ethereum DATS (11), Solana DATS (8), and others are also growing.³ While leaders like MicroStrategy (now Strategy) and Metaplanet have executed well, we caution that not every struggling company can reinvent itself through treasury strategies. A listing alone is not a plan.

Portfolio Positioning

We deployed cash surgically in August, adding exposure to:

• Circle Internet Group (CRCL) (+0.75%)
• PayPal (PYPL) (+0.50%)
• Shift4 (FOUR) (+0.50%)
• Metaplanet (3350 JP) (+0.25%)
• Coinbase (COIN) (+0.25%)

We trimmed Core Scientific and Riot Platforms, as we were overweight in their category.

Attribution

• Cipher Mining (CIFR): up nearly +40% in August, CIFR contributed approximately +1.38% to BLOK’s return. Now heavily tilted toward high performance computing and AI data centers.
• CompoSecure (CMPO) and Resolute (RHLD): Together contributed around +1.06% to BLOK’s August return after CMPO’s strong earnings. CMPO manufactures credit cards and also produces the Arculus cold-storage wallet — a credit-card-style crypto storage solution.