Ark Invest Acquires $42M in Circle, Bullish, and BitMine Despite Severe 9.6% Stock Drop

Cathie Wood's ARK Invest has made significant moves in the cryptocurrency market on Wednesday, increasing its stakes in Bullish, Circle Internet Group, and BitMine Immersion Technologies. This comes even as all three companies witnessed substantial intraday losses, continuing the trend of declining crypto equities from the highs seen in October.

Key Takeaways

ARK Invest has recently purchased $42 million in Bullish, Circle, and BitMine, despite their stocks facing significant losses.
The largest portion of investment went to Bullish, followed by Circle and BitMine.
ARK's strategy reflects a trend of buying during market downturns and highlights a deepening commitment to cryptocurrency.
ARK’s total crypto exposure has now surpassed $2.15 billion, with major investments in various crypto-linked companies.

Ark Invest Acquires $42M in Circle, Bullish, and BitMine — Despite Severe 9.6% Stock Drop

According to ARK’s latest trade disclosure, the firm invested a total of $42 million across its main exchange-traded funds (ETFs), marking one of its largest single-day crypto investments this month.

This purchasing strategy reflects ARK's ongoing approach of capitalizing on market dips, as both crypto assets and associated equities have faced significant drops throughout November.

Why Is Cathie Wood Dipping Into the Market Again Despite Crypto Stock Decline?

ARK's biggest investment of the day went to Bullish, a cryptocurrency exchange supported by Peter Thiel, which has been experiencing considerable pressure in its stock price recently.

The ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) acquired 322,917 shares, while ARKW picked up 92,670 shares and ARKF added 48,011 shares, leading to a total investment in Bullish of approximately $16.8 million for that day.

This purchase occurred as Bullish shares fell by 3.63% during trading, closing at $36.39, before making a minor recovery after hours.

Bullish Stocks

ARK also ramped up its holdings in Circle, the entity behind the USDC stablecoin and one of ARK’s fastest-growing crypto investments. The ARKK fund added 150,518 shares, ARKW acquired 43,174 shares, and ARKF added 22,327 shares, bringing the total investment in Circle to about $15 million. Circle’s stock struggled on Wednesday, dropping nearly 9% to $69.72, but slightly rebounded in after-hours trading.

The firm rounded off the day by increasing its stake in BitMine Immersion Technologies, buying a combined 260,651 shares across its three ETFs for approximately $7.6 million.

BitMine, which has shifted its focus towards accumulating Ethereum, saw its stock decline by 9.5% to $29.18 before recovering more than 6% later in the trading session.

BitMine Stocks

These latest acquisitions follow closely after ARK's $10.2 million purchase of BitMine shares earlier this week, a move timed when the stock reached an unprecedented low. On the same day, the firm had also acquired $10.2 million worth of Bullish stock, just before the exchange’s quarterly earnings announcement.

Although Bullish reported weaker revenue in its previous earnings, there were signs of improving profitability. The two simultaneous purchases suggest that ARK is optimistic about the exchange's fundamentals improving once market conditions stabilize.

This week's transactions are consistent with a broader trend witnessed during November.

ARK Invest’s Crypto Exposure Reaches $2.15 Billion While Continuing to Buy Bullish

ARK has been consistently increasing its investment in Bullish, including an additional $11.98 million acquired earlier this month.

Interestingly, this latest investment pushes ARK's total position in Bullish above $209 million since the exchange became public in August. Although Bullish shares are down around 47% from their initial price, there have been occasional recoveries. ARK’s initial investment was $172 million at $37 per share when the exchange debuted on the New York Stock Exchange.

This renewed buying spree comes during one of the most challenging phases for crypto equities since early 2024, with Bitcoin remaining below its October highs as the overall market continues to decline.

Circle and BitMine have faced some of the most drastic downturns, while Bullish has been struggling through a prolonged slowdown. Even larger-cap companies faced difficulties; for example, Michael Saylor's Bitcoin treasury firm, Strategy, fell by 9.82% during Wednesday's session but managed to recover some losses afterward.

Crypto Market Trends

ARK’s persistent accumulation highlights the growing integration of cryptocurrency into its ETFs. As of early November, ARK's overall crypto exposure across ARKF, ARKW, and ARKK surpassed $2.15 billion, underpinned by holdings in firms like Coinbase, Robinhood, Circle, Bullish, and BitMine.

ARK’s portfolio also includes staking products for Ether and Solana through ETFs like ETHQ/U and SOLQ/U. Among its funds, ARKF holds the highest proportion of crypto-related assets at 29%, while ARKW follows with 25.7% and ARKK at 17.7%.