In a significant move, ARK Invest, led by Cathie Wood, has been consistently selling its shares of the crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) throughout December 2023. The total sales have reached close to $200 million, marking a notable shift in the investment firm’s strategy.
ARK Invest sold another 335,860 shares in the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase on a single day, marking its largest sale since July. This sale alone raised $49.2 million at Coinbase’s closing price. The shares were offloaded across three of ARK’s exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with the majority coming from the Innovation ETF (ARKK).
The sales have been consistent in recent weeks, coinciding with the appreciation of Coinbase’s shares alongside Bitcoin’s rally. The recent rally in COIN stock, which reached highs not seen since April 2022, meant its weighting in the three ETFs exceeded 10%. Despite the sales, COIN still accounts for more than 11% of ARKK and the Next Generation ETF (ARKW), and over 13% of the Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF).
Ark Invest Adjust Holdings in Crypto Landscape
ARK Invest frequently adjusts its Coinbase portfolio in response to share price increases, adhering to a policy that caps exposure to any single company at approximately 10% of total holdings. Despite these adjustments, Coinbase (COIN) continues to represent more than 10% of the holdings in both the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) and the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW).
In addition, ARKW has further divested from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), decreasing its stake by 398,383 shares. Simultaneously, the fund has increased its investment in Block (SQ) by acquiring an additional 158,334 shares. Block, a company that facilitates cryptocurrency transactions via its Cash App, recently introduced a new self-custody Bitcoin wallet.
The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) experienced a minor increase in its discount to net asset value, moving up by a mere 0.33 percentage points to 7.9% on Wednesday.
This figure is significantly lower than the 12.5% it reached earlier in the month and is close to the smallest discount observed since August 2021, as per data from Ycharts. Concurrently, Bitcoin demonstrated a positive trend, surging by 3.3% and surpassing the $44,000 mark for the first time in the past 10 days.
