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Author: Prathik Desai, Source: Tokendispatch, Compiled by: Shaw Bitchain Vision
I have been tracking Ark Invest’s daily transactions with cryptocurrency companies over the past few months.The U.S.-based fund company manages assets issued by exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and venture capital funds.Their buying and selling strategy reveals an interesting story about how they can seize the timing of trading in an industry that seems difficult to grasp.
One action may be a coincidence, and two actions may be instinct.Ark’s cryptocurrency trading demonstrates an extraordinary ability to grasp timing, a perception that is thoughtful rather than passive.This is evident from the fact that it made more than $265 million in trading Coinbase and Circle stocks alone in June and July.
If you look closely, you will find that Ark Invest has been transferring its funds from exchanges and trading platforms to invest in infrastructure, treasury bonds and token investments.
The company’s recent transactions give us a glimpse of how the most watched institutional investor optimizes earnings for its retail cryptocurrency investors by quickly and frequently transferring funds into and out of their funds at the right time.This is very different from the “firmly held” remarks in the cryptocurrency field and is more complicated.
On June 5, 2025, Circle Internet Financial, the issuer of USDC, the largest regulated stablecoin in the United States, was listed on the New York Stock Exchange at an issue price of US$69 per share.Ark Invest is its cornerstone investor, with a total subscribed 4.49 million shares, with a total value of approximately US$373 million.
On June 23, Circle shares closed at a peak of $263.45 per share.This means that the market valued Circle at about $60 billion at the time, about 100% of the size of its assets under management at that time.This may be because the market is optimistic about the future of stablecoins and is trying to price Circle’s future revenue at 10 times the current asset management scale.However, this still seems too high compared to the valuation of traditional asset management companies.Take BlackRock as an example, its assets under management are $12.5 trillion, with a market value of only slightly higher than $180 billion, about 1.4% of its assets under management.That’s it, this is the signal from Ark Invest.
Daily trading filings show that as Circle stock premium continues to soar, Ark Invest gradually sells its Circle stock in multiple funds.
Ark Invest began selling a week before its stock price peaked.During the parabolic rise in Circle’s stock price, Ark Invest sold a total of about 1.5 million shares, accounting for about 33% of the total holdings and was worth about $333 million.This means that Ark Invest has achieved more than $200 million, or 160% of its book profit in the stock that Circle bought when it went public on Wall Street less than three weeks ago.
Ark Invest’s interest in popular initial public offerings (IPOs) has not stopped there.
Last week, the company purchased 60,000 shares on the first day of Figma’s listing.The San Francisco-based design software company disclosed in filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it holds $70 million worth of Bitcoin ETFs and is allowed to purchase another $30 million.
Figma’s stock price soared more than 200% on its first day of listing, closing at $115.50, a 250% increase.The next day, Figma’s share price rose by another 5.8%.
Ark Invest’s recent transactions in Coinbase have given us more knowledge about its systematic profit-taking model.
As of April 30, 2025, Ark Invest held 2.88 million shares of the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States.Since then, the company has been planning to make profits by the end of July.
Meanwhile, Coinbase shares also saw a rise as Bitcoin hit an all-time high of over $112,000.During this period, Coinbase shares reached a record high of more than $440 per share.On July 1, Ark Invest reduced its holdings of $43.8 million in stock.On July 21, Coinbase’s stock price peaked: three Ark Invest’s funds reduced their holdings of $93.1 million in stocks.Overall, Ark Invest reduced its holdings of 528,779 shares of Coinbase between June 27 and July 31, accounting for about 20% of its total Coinbase shares, and is worth more than $200 million, with an average selling price of $385 per share.Compared to the weighted average cost of Ark Invest’s four-year increase in Coinbase stock, the profits of these transactions exceeded $66 million.
Over the past two months, Coinbase has lost its position as the top hot asset candidate in its Ark Invest portfolio.
After the stock market closed on July 31, Coinbase released second-quarter results that disappointed investors.The next day, its share price fell from about $379 to $314, a 17% drop.On August 1, the day the stock price plummeted, Ark Invest bought $30.7 million worth of Coinbase stock.
These transactions are not isolated incidents.This is allPart of the strategic shift is to pull funds out of the overheated cryptocurrency exchange ecosystem and invest in areas that have just begun to attract widespread attention.
While selling Coinbase stock, its rival Robinhood also encountered a similar selling wave.Both dives matched the time when Ark Invest invested most of its funds in BitMine Immersion Technologies, known as the “Ethereum version of micro-strategy.”BitMine, led by Wall Street veteran Tom Lee, is building Ethereum vault reserves with the goal of holding and pledging 5% of Ethereum’s total.
On July 22, Ark Invest invested $182 million in BitMine through bulk transactions.But they didn’t just buy it once and ignored it.Ark Invest systematically buys BitMine every time it falls significantly, and has invested more than US$235 million in just two weeks.
These transactions indicate thatArk Invest is moving from cryptocurrency exchanges and payment companies to so-called crypto infrastructure.Coinbase and Robinhood make profits when people trade cryptocurrencies, while BitMine makes profits by holding cryptocurrencies directly.These are different ways to get in touch with cryptocurrencies, but the risk characteristics vary.
Exchanges benefit from volatility and speculation.When the price of cryptocurrencies fluctuates significantly, people trade more, and exchanges make more money.But this is periodic.Companies like BitMine benefit directly from rising cryptocurrencies.If Ethereum rises 50%, BitMine’s assets will also rise 50%.This does not depend on transaction volume or user behavior.Even without significant capital appreciation, profits can be generated continuously by pledging Ethereum into the network.
But the higher the return, the greater the risk.Crypto treasury companies also face direct downside risks.When the ETH price falls, BitMine’s asset value will also shrink accordingly.This makes crypto treasury companies one of the companies with higher beta coefficients.
Ark Invest’s transactions reflect its belief in cryptocurrencies:Cryptocurrencies are gradually growing from speculative trading markets to something more like permanent financial infrastructure.In such a world, having underlying assets may be more valuable than having platforms where people trade them.
What’s interesting about these transactions is that the timing is very precise.They sold Circle as its stock soared to its peak.They also seized the opportunity that Figma’s stock price soared 250% on its first day of listing.They also sold Coinbase’s shares as it peaked and doubled the company’s purchases after the company plummeted due to poor performance.They bought BitMine on multiple market declines.
Its methodology combines traditional value investment principles with precise timing.When Circle trades at 100% of its assets under management, it may be priced higher.And when Coinbase’s stock price fell 17% within one day after the financial report, the price may be low.Ark Invest also seems to accurately grasp trading opportunities before and after predictable events (such as financial report releases, regulatory decisions, and market fluctuations).
There is a bigger question here: Why do these stocks trade at such a huge premium in the first place?Circle’s transaction price was briefly the same as the full price of its assets under management.BitMine is trading at several times its Ethereum position.These premiums exist because most investors cannot easily buy cryptocurrencies directly.Even if it can, a cryptocurrency trading platform for retail investors cannot provide a smooth experience.If you want to invest in Ethereum in your pension fund, buying Ethereum is not as easy as buying Ethereum treasury reserves stocks.
This creates a structural advantage for companies holding crypto assets.Ark Invest’s deal shows that they are very aware of this dynamic.They buy when the premium is reasonable and sell when the premium is too high.
Ark Invest’s strategy proves,Investing in crypto stocks is not just a simple buying and holding game.Especially when you want to optimize the returns.For anyone trying to follow Ark Invest to invest in cryptocurrency trading, it is not enough to just know what they bought.You need to understand why they buy, when they may sell, and what they will turn next.
Currently, Ark Invest’s crypto transactions provide a useful window to understand how professional funds manage crypto risks.Cryptocurrency trading provides a useful window for observing how professional funds manage cryptocurrency investment.
