The wider market for digital assets is in a bear market. A bear market means prices are falling. Some investors see this as a chance to buy more. One big buyer is Ark Invest. This is an American investment company led by Cathie Wood. Ark Invest buys many crypto-related stocks through something called exchange-traded funds, or ETFs. An ETF is like a basket of stocks that you can buy on a stock market. This helps investors own pieces of several crypto companies at once instead of buying each stock by itself. Ark uses ETFs to gain exposure to several crypto companies with one purchase.
On February 3, Ark Invest reported it spent more than $19 million to buy more crypto-related stocks. The purchases were made through its ETFs and covered several different companies. The biggest names included Circle, Coinbase, Bullish, Bitmine, Block Inc., and Robinhood. Here are some specific numbers from the filing:
- 145,488 Bitmine shares for about $3.25 million
- 125,218 Bullish shares for about $3.46 million
- 42,878 Circle shares for about $2.40 million
- 3,510 Coinbase shares for about $630,606
- 31,202 shares of Block Inc. for about $1.77 million
- 89,677 Robinhood shares for about $7.80 million
Ark Invest also bought these shares in other rounds. The purchases on February 3 came after a bigger round on Monday, when Ark Invest bought crypto-related shares worth more than $71 million. The same companies were part of the Monday buys, including Coinbase, Circle, Bitmine, Robinhood, Bullish, and Block Inc. Ark used several exchange-traded funds for these trades, especially the ARK Blockchain & Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF) and the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK).
What is happening in the market is this: since late last year, Bitcoin, the most well-known cryptocurrency, has fallen in price. When prices fall, some related company stocks also go down. Data from TradingView shows many crypto-related stocks have dropped by double digits in the last three months. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was around $76,000. It had fallen about 17 percent for the month and about 14 percent for the week. Some analysts worry the price could fall further, potentially toward $60,000.
Even though Bitcoin and the broader market are sliding, Ark Invest has been busy buying crypto stocks. The firm spent money on these stocks in December and January as well. Looking at the pattern, Ark seems likely to continue buying crypto-related stocks as long as the market stays in a bear phase, or fall-in price trend. This strategy is sometimes described as “buying the dip,” which means buying when prices are lower in the hope that they will rise again later.
About the people and the companies mentioned above. You may hear these names and want to know what they mean. Here are simple explanations for some terms you might see in articles about Ark Invest and crypto stocks. For more information, you can read the full Wikipedia definitions linked here.
Definitions
ARK Invest is an American investment management firm. It runs several actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and funds. The company focuses on disruptive technologies and was founded in 2014 by Cathie Wood. Wikipedia
Cathie Wood is the founder and leader of Ark Invest. She serves as CEO and chief investment officer (CIO). Wikipedia
Coinbase is a large American cryptocurrency exchange. It was founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam. The company operates a major platform for buying and selling crypto. Wikipedia
Circle Internet Group is a payments technology company. It issues stablecoins, like USDC, and provides blockchain-enabled financial services. Wikipedia
Robinhood Markets is an American financial services company. It offers a mobile and online trading platform for stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), options and cryptocurrencies. The company went public in 2021. Wikipedia