Cathie Wood's ARK Invest significantly increased its exposure to cryptocurrency-linked equities this week, purchasing shares in several key companies as their stock prices slumped. The asset manager disclosed on Monday that it had bought shares in stablecoin issuer Circle, digital asset manager BitMine, crypto exchange Bullish, trading platform Robinhood, Jack Dorsey's Block Inc., and exchange Coinbase.
The purchases were executed primarily through two of ARK's exchange-traded funds: the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) and the ARK Blockchain & Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF). The ARK Next Generation Internet ETF also increased its crypto stock holdings. The largest individual buys included 235,077 shares of Robinhood (HOOD), valued at approximately $21.1 million, and 274,358 shares of BitMine (BMNR), worth around $6.2 million, within the ARKK fund.
This buying spree occurred against a backdrop of a sharp decline in crypto-related stocks. On Monday, Robinhood and Circle shares were down nearly 10% and 8%, respectively. BitMine fell 9.16%, Bullish dropped 4.47%, and shares of Coinbase, Block, and others also dipped. The moves reflect ARK's strategy of accumulating positions during market weakness, having also upped crypto stock exposure late last month.
The broader cryptocurrency market has faced parallel challenges, with Bitcoin (BTC) falling below $80,000 in February for the first time since April 2025. Over the past week, Bitcoin was down 10.9%, trading near $78,641, while Ether (ETH) declined by 20% to around $2,331. Circle's stock closed at $58.86, down 7.9% for the day and 65% over the past six months.
ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood commented on the macro environment via social media, noting the recent rally in gold and its historical correlation with Bitcoin. "Important to note is that the correlation between the bitcoin and gold prices has been 0.14 since early 2020, and that the gold price led the last two significant bull moves in the bitcoin price," she wrote, suggesting a potential signal for Bitcoin's next move.
