ARK Invest resumes Coinbase stock purchases; investments total $17.8 million

ARK Invest-managed fundspurchased a total of 268,928 shares Coinbase worth $17.8 million.

The purchases were allocated as follows:

• The flagship Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) — 230,599 securities;
• Next Generation Internet (ARKW) — 38,329.

The move came after a partial sale of Coinbase shares on the cryptocurrency exchange worth $13.5 million two days earlier.

Following the session on March 23, Coinbase’s market capitalization fell 14.1%.

Investors reacted to a notice from the SEC about a probe into listing procedures on the platform and its products — Coinbase Prime, Coinbase Wallet and the staking service Coinbase Earn. The company said it was prepared for litigation.

The claims against the exchange came a month after Kraken, a competitor, settled charges relating to its staking program, the offering and sale of which the latter had not registered. The platform agreed to shut it down and pay a $30 million fine.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler at the time urged the crypto industry to take note of the Kraken case.

Earlier, the SEC chief described the market for digital assets as centralized. He urged platforms to approach the SEC on whether a given asset should be recognised as an investment contract. He also warned of possible enforcement actions against unregistered bitcoin exchanges.

In October 2022, ARK Invest first bought Coinbase securities. In November, the funds managed by the firm spent another $21.4 million, in December — $3 million and $5 million.

In February 2023 the firm invested $6.7 million and $9.27 million. By the end of the month ARK Invest had purchased Coinbase shares worth $16.9 million.

In March the organization directed an additional $3.44 million toward these aims.