ARK Invest, a participant in the application process for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States, has been consistently selling its holdings of Coinbase stock. This trend continued with the recent sale of another substantial batch of Coinbase shares.
Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest sold an additional 149,780 Coinbase shares (COIN) totaling $24.2 million from two of its funds as the stock reached new yearly highs, according to the company’s latest trade filing. The sale included 132,782 Coinbase shares ($21.5 million) from its Innovation ETF and 16,998 shares ($2.7 million) from its Next Generation Internet ETF. Ark Invest has been rebalancing its fund weightings amid a recent surge in COIN’s price.
This sale follows a $5.5 million disposal of Coinbase shares on Tuesday, and Ark has sold over $200 million worth of Coinbase stock in the past month. Despite reaching yearly highs, Coinbase shares closed at $161.86 on the day of the sale.
Over the past month, Coinbase shares have increased by 60%, and year-to-date, they have risen by 344%. However, the stock is still over 50% below its all-time high of approximately $343, set in November 2021.
Ark Invest, led by Cathie Wood, sold approximately $59 million in Coinbase shares last week, according to a recent trade filing. The investment management firm disclosed the sale of 18,962 COIN shares ($2.8 million) last Friday.
Capitalizing on the recent rally in Coinbase’s stock, Ark Invest sold 12,142 Coinbase shares ($1.8 million) from its Innovation ETF, 2,278 shares ($337,000) from its Next Generation Internet ETF, and 4,542 shares ($672,000) from its Fintech Innovation ETF.
This follows the trend set earlier in the week, with the sale of $42.6 million worth of COIN on Wednesday, $11.5 million on Tuesday, and $1.9 million on Monday. The cumulative divestment reached $58.8 million in Coinbase shares for the week. Ark Invest had also previously divested $100 million worth of Coinbase shares in the prior week.
Ark Invest Continues GBTC Sell-Off, Offloading Over $27.6 Million in Largest Sale in a Year
Ark Invest sold 809,441 shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) worth $27.6 million from its Next Generation Internet (ARKW) exchange-traded fund (ETF) on Monday, marking the largest sale in over a year. This follows Ark’s sale of 12,000 GBTC shares on Friday, amounting to $409,000, $1.6 million on Wednesday, and $12.9 million on Monday, totaling $14.9 million in GBTC shares sold last week.
On Wednesday, Ark Invest also sold 398,383 GBTC (Grayscale Bitcoin Trust) shares, amounting to $14.3 million, from its Next Generation Internet fund. GBTC shares traded at $35.83 at the market close on the day of the sale, registering a 2.6% increase for the day, a 23% rise over the past month, and a 336% increase year-to-date.
The price of GBTC has moved in line with the recent surge in the underlying value of Bitcoin, which has increased by 2.3% in the past 24 hours, 17.5% over the past month, and 165% year-to-date. Bitcoin is currently trading at around $43,763.
Ark’s recent sales of GBTC shares come amid a significant narrowing of GBTC’s discount to net asset value (NAV) in recent months. The discount, reflecting how much lower the market price of each share is compared to the value of the Bitcoin it represents, has fallen from over 40% in June to around 7.6%, according to YCharts.
Ark Invest’s Focus on Block
While shedding GBTC, ARK has continued to accumulate shares of Block, the financial payment processor co-founded by Twitter (now X) co-founder Jack Dorsey.
On Dec. 18, ARKW allocated another 347,692 Block shares worth $25.7 million at the closing share price. In addition to this, Ark Invest also bought 158,334 shares ($12.1 million) in Jack Dorsey’s Block for its Next Generation Internet ETF.
Amid aggressive buying, Block stock has been edging closer to GBTC on the top four list, reaching a weight of 6.83% of ARKW’s total assets with a market value of $116.9 billion. Block shares traded at $76.11 at the market close.
ARK Invest has been actively selling its holdings of Coinbase and Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) shares as both stocks have experienced significant price increases. Despite reaching yearly highs, Coinbase shares closed at $161.86 on the day of the sale, while GBTC shares traded at $35.83. Ark Invest has sold over $200 million worth of Coinbase stock and $27.6 million worth of GBTC shares in recent weeks. This divestment is part of Ark Invest’s strategy to rebalance its fund weightings. While shedding GBTC, Ark Invest has been accumulating shares of Block, a financial payment processor co-founded by Jack Dorsey, which has been performing well in the market.
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