ARK buys $21M of 3iQ Ether staking ETF, dumps $14.6M of Coinbase stake.
Cryptocurrency-related trades are gathering steam again at Cathy Wood's investment firm ARK Invest as they return to trading tens of millions of dollars in a single day from crypto-related stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
After continuing a significant selloff in Coinbase stock in July, ARK ramped up its selloff in August, dumping 69,069 Coinbase shares on August 1, according to trading data seen by Cointelegraph. At the stock's closing price, it was valued at $14.7 million, according to data from TradingView.
The transaction is ARK's largest Coinbase sale since early April and late March, when the firm dumped 60,000 Coinbase shares each day.
Despite continued heavy Coinbase sales, ARK funds still hold a significant stake in Coinbase. In the year As of August 2nd, Coinbase is the largest asset in the ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF), making up nearly 10% of the fund's portfolio.
ARK's massive sale to Coinbase comes as the exchange reports $1.4 billion in total revenue in the second quarter of 2024.
“This quarter's performance demonstrates the extraordinary progress we as a company have made in driving regulatory transparency globally,” said Coinbase Vice President of Global Policy Tom Duff Gordon.
ARK started by buying the 3iQ Ether staking ETF.
While dumping Coinbase, ARK made its first acquisition of Canada-based 3iQ Ether staking ETF (ETHQ.U), a fund that invests in Ether (ETH) and seeks long-term capital appreciation, generating rewards per share.
After launching the fund as the 3iQ Ether ETF in 2021, 3iQ partnered with Coinbase and Tetra Trust to expand the product in 2023.
ARK's trading data shows that the firm bought 1.7 million ETHQ.U shares on Aug. 1 for around $21 million, according to TradingView data. Of this amount, approximately one million ETHQ.U shares were allocated to the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW), while the remaining 651,713 shares were purchased by the ARK Fintech Innovation ETF.
Related: Crypto.com Outpaces Coinbase in Trading Volume as Institutional Interest Grows
Closing at $12.3 on August 1, the 3iQ Ether staking ETF has seen significant growth in recent months, rising nearly 40% year-to-date.
ARK sells its own Bitcoin ETF and Robinhood shares
In addition to selling its Coinbase stake, ARK also dumped some shares from Robinhood Stash and its own Bitcoin (BTC) ETF. The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) will begin trading in the United States on January 11, 2024, along with nine other Bitcoin ETFs.
Wood Investment Firm unloaded 108,751 ARKB shares in its ARKW fund, according to TradingView data. ARK also disposed of 282,435 Robinhood shares valued at $5.7 million.
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