ARK Invest’s flagship ARK Innovation ETF sold 135,152 Coinbase shares (~$13.4 million).
ARK Invest resumed buying Coinbase shares in October 2022 after a four-month pause. The firm steadily built its positions and only in March 2023 disposed of a stake worth $13.5 million.
In late April, Cathie Wood’s funds bought more Coinbase securities worth $8.6 million. The deal occurred on the same day Coinbase filed a lawsuitCoinbase filed a lawsuit concerning the SEC.
In May, ARK Invest-controlled entities invested $8.3 million and $7.5 million in the crypto exchange.
The last purchase came on June 6, when the SEC filed a lawsuit against the crypto exchange. ARK Invest-managed fundsbought more in total 419,324 Coinbase shares for $21.64 million.
The SEC accused the company of an unregistered securities offering in the form of a series of tokens and of unlawfully combining three functions — acting as broker, exchange and clearinghouse, which are typically separated in traditional markets. The regulator also targeted Coinbase Earn’s staking program.
That day, Coinbase shares fell 9.1%. At one point, the drop in market capitalization exceeded 13.5%.
Since then, as of July 11, the stock’s price has risen 72.7% — from $51.60 to $89.20. Since the start of the year, the exchange’s market capitalization has risen more than 151.9%.
Catalyst for the positive momentum could be news around applications to launch spot Bitcoin-ETFs.
On June 30, sources to the WSJ said the SEC returned the documents because they did not contain sufficient information regarding the so-called joint surveillance agreement or details of this mechanism. The latter became a key addition to BlackRock’s proposal.
The next day, Bloomberg reported that Invesco, VanEck, 21Shares, WisdomTree, and Fidelity sent revised filings to the Commission, reflecting regulator criticism.
The listed firms included in the filings a note that Coinbase would provide support in joint surveillance.
Earlier on July 6, a number of top executives, including the platform’s CEO Brian Armstrong, sold a total of 88,058 shares worth about $6.9 million.
Former SEC chairman Jay Clayton saw strong prospects for Bitcoin ETF approval.