Ark Invest, led by Cathie Wood, has intensified its Coinbase (COIN) share sale. On Friday last week, the firm executed another sale, offloading about 335,860 COIN shares, valued at approximately $49.2 million; this follows the $59 million in COIN it sold earlier last week.
Strategic portfolio adjustments
Ark Invest’s sale was distributed across three exchange-traded funds (ETFs), mostly from the Innovation ETF (ARKK). This move raised substantial capital, reflecting a strategic shift in the firm’s investment approach. The recent appreciation in Coinbase’s stock, paralleling Bitcoin’s rally, has prompted consistent sales from Ark Invest. The firm maintains a policy of keeping individual holdings within a 2-10% weighting range in its ETFs. With Coinbase’s stock reaching heights not seen since April 2022, its weighting in ARK’s ETFs had exceeded this threshold.
Despite these sales, COIN still represents a significant portion of Ark Invest’s portfolio, accounting for over 11% of ARKK and the Next Generation ETF (ARKW) and more than 13% in the Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF).
Market context and implications
Coinbase’s stock closed last Friday at $146.62, marking a 7.66% increase on the day. This performance aligns with a broader trend in the cryptocurrency market, where Bitcoin surged above $44,000 before experiencing a correction. Ark Invest also reduced its holdings in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), selling 102,672 shares valued at around $3.6 million. GBTC’s share, representing 8.33% of ARKW, mirrors the dynamic shifts in the crypto market.
Coinbase’s stock, though experiencing a significant uptick and standing 300% higher year-to-date, still remains 57% below its all-time high of $342.98 set in November 2021. With a current valuation of $27.3 billion,
The firm’s strategy indicates a keen awareness of market trends and a readiness to adjust its holdings to maintain balanced and strategic portfolio weightings.
According to CoinGlass data, today’s market volatility led to the liquidation of over $94 million worth of Bitcoin positions. The majority of these positions ($85 million) were longs, resulting in a total of $360 million in liquidations across different exchanges.
