TLDR
- ARK Invest bought $1.3 million in Coinbase shares, $8.7 million in Circle stock, and $6 million in BitMine on February 3
- Cathie Wood added 125,218 Bullish shares and 135,131 ARK Bitcoin ETF shares as crypto markets declined
- Bitcoin dropped below $70,000 on February 5, losing 7.8% in 24 hours and hitting lows not seen since November 2024
- Coinbase now represents 5.55% of ARK’s blockchain ETF, making it the third largest holding
- Crypto market liquidations exceeded $750 million as sentiment reached extreme fear levels
Cathie Wood is adding crypto stocks to her portfolio during the market decline. ARK Invest purchased millions of dollars in cryptocurrency-related companies this week. The buying spree happened as Bitcoin fell to its lowest level in months.
ARK Invest bought shares in multiple crypto firms on February 3. The purchases included Coinbase, Circle, BitMine Immersion Technologies, and Bullish exchange. Wood’s investment firm spent $1.3 million on 3,510 Coinbase shares.
Circle received $8.7 million in investment from ARK across two funds. The ARKK fund purchased 34,342 shares while ARKF added 8,536 shares. Circle operates as the issuer of USDC stablecoin.
Wood’s firm invested $6 million in BitMine stock, buying 145,488 shares. BitMine started as a Bitcoin mining company but now holds Ethereum in its treasury. Tom Lee serves as chairman of the company.
ARK purchased 125,218 shares of Bullish worth $3.5 million. Bullish operates as a regulated cryptocurrency exchange with backing from Block.one. PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel invested through Thiel Capital in early funding rounds.
The firm bought 135,131 shares of its own ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF. This purchase totaled approximately $3.4 million in value. The ETF provides direct exposure to Bitcoin price movements.
Wood Continues Buying Crypto Stocks
ARK Invest added more shares on February 4. The ARK Innovation ETF purchased 83,094 Bullish shares. The fund also bought 14,868 Circle shares.
Coinbase now holds 5.55% of the ARK Blockchain & Fintech Innovation ETF. This makes it the third largest position in the fund. Robinhood accounts for 4.08% of the portfolio.
In the ARK Innovation ETF, Coinbase represents 4.29% of holdings. This ranks as the fifth largest position. Circle holds 2.41% while BitMine accounts for 2.03%.
Bitcoin Falls to November Lows
The stock purchases occurred during a crypto market crash. Bitcoin dropped below $70,000 on February 5. The cryptocurrency lost 7.8% in a 24-hour period.
Bitcoin traded at $67,753.29 at the time of reporting. This marked the worst price crash since early November 2024. The total crypto market cap declined to $2.59 trillion.
Market sentiment indicators showed extreme fear across the sector. Liquidations totaled more than $750 million in crypto positions. Bitcoin briefly fell below $73,000 before recovering slightly.
Coinbase stock fell 4.36% to close at $179.66. Circle shares declined 4.59% to finish at $56.16. BitMine dropped 1.97% to $22.35.
Robinhood stock has fallen 40% from its 52-week high. Technical indicators show the stock in oversold territory. ARK bought approximately $32.7 million in total Robinhood shares.
Bullish stock declined 3.93% to close at $27.64. The ARK Bitcoin ETF fell 1.97% to $25.36. Crypto stocks traded lower throughout the week.
A tightening U.S. liquidity environment put pressure on high-risk assets. Investors processed ETF losses and declining market confidence. The sell-off affected cryptocurrency equities across the board as Bitcoin fell below $80,000 during the week.