Amid Bitcoin (BTC<\/a>) mining stocks like Hut 8 Mining touching multi-month lows, a major industry executive has outlined key differences between BTC investment and investing in BTC-linked stocks.<\/p>\n Ben Gagnon, chief mining officer (CMO) at the major Bitcoin mining company Bitfarms, believes that direct BTC investment and exposure to BTC mining stocks are two \u201cfundamentally different\u201d investment strategies to suit different people and interests.<\/p>\n \u201cA direct investment in Bitcoin is a simple, long-term investment suitable for the vast majority of people,\u201d Gagnon said in an interview with Cointelegraph.<\/p>\n On the other hand, investing in publicly-traded BTC miners is a \u201cmuch more sophisticated strategy,\u201d the exec noted. \u201cFor sophisticated investors who are looking for liquid exposure to Bitcoin in their traditional stock portfolio, the publicly traded miners are one of the best ways to do that,\u201d Gagnon said.<\/p>\n The CMO went on to say that the primary value of Bitcoin miners stems from the value of BTC they mine and generate as cash flow over time, adding:<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Bitcoin goes up, the miners should go up more. When Bitcoin goes down, the miners should go down more.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Gagnon\u2019s remarks come amid some big BTC mining stocks recording a significantly bigger slump to compare with major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether (ETH<\/a>).<\/p>\n Riot Blockchain, one of the world\u2019s largest Bitcoin mining companies, has seen its stock drop 45% year to date, trading<\/a> slightly above $12 during pre-market trading at the time of writing, according to data from TradingView. Another public crypto miner, Hut 8 Mining, plummeted<\/a> more than 50% year to date. The Bitfarms\u2019 stock tumbled<\/a> around 41% over the same period.<\/p>\n In the meantime, the prices of Bitcoin and Ether decreased<\/a> 15% and 20% respectively since Jan. 1, 2022, according to data from CoinGecko.<\/p>\n The same correlation of the Bitcoin price on BTC mining stocks worked in another direction last year as\u00a0BTC was on the way to hit all-time highs above $68,000<\/a>. Amid a massive crypto rally of 2021, Bitcoin mining stocks were massively\u00a0outperforming the general crypto market<\/a>. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, BTC mining stocks outstripped BTC by as much as 455%<\/a> over a one-year period in March last year.<\/p>\n The value of Bitcoin is not the sole trigger affecting the value of Bitcoin mining stocks, according to the Bitfarms\u2019 mining executive. Gagnon pointed out five major aspects to evaluate \u201cany public miner,\u201d including the amount of owned BTC, current mining volumes, the cost of mining, expansion investments and future mining plans. <\/p>\n \u201cWhile each public Bitcoin miner has its own strategy and differentiators as a business they are all very similar,\u201d Gagnon noted.<\/p>\n According to data from the crypto and blockchain analytics startup Arcane Research, Bitfarms is one of the world\u2019s largest public Bitcoin miners, producing<\/a> 363 BTC ($14.7 million) in March 2022. Apart from being a major BTC miner, Bitfarms also made its first ever Bitcoin purchase<\/a> in January, buying 1,000 BTC ($40.4 million).<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/s3.cointelegraph.com\/uploads\/2022-04\/14a2a5a2-9ab4-444c-9a49-b6b51f1bda10.png\")