ARK Invest, the asset management firm led by prominent Bitcoin bull Cathie Wood, executed a significant portfolio rebalancing on Thursday, selling $17.4 million worth of Coinbase (COIN) stock and purchasing a nearly equivalent $17.8 million stake in Bullish (BLSH). This move comes as crypto-related equities face a severe downturn alongside a broader cryptocurrency market sell-off.
The firm sold 119,236 shares of Coinbase, valued at $17.4 million based on Thursday's closing price of $146.12. Coinbase shares plummeted 13.3% on the day and are down approximately 37% year-to-date, hitting multi-month lows. This sale marks ARK's first divestment of Coinbase stock in 2026 and its first since August 2025, signaling a potential shift in its trading strategy toward the major cryptocurrency exchange.
Concurrently, ARK invested $17.8 million to acquire 716,030 shares of Bullish, the institution-focused digital asset platform and parent company of CoinDesk. Bullish shares closed at $24.90 on Thursday, down 8.5% for the day and more than 60% since its New York Stock Exchange listing in August 2025. ARK was a significant buyer during Bullish's initial public offering, alongside investment giant BlackRock.
Despite this sale, ARK remains a major holder of Coinbase, with a total position worth $312 million across its three flagship ETFs: the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK), ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW), and ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF). Coinbase represents 3.7%, 3.4%, and 4.95% of these funds, respectively.
The trades occurred against a backdrop of a sharp crypto market correction, with Bitcoin (BTC) briefly touching $60,000, its lowest level since November 2024. While ARK has a history of buying crypto-adjacent equities during market downturns to capture value, its decision to offload a substantial portion of a core holding like Coinbase is noted as a rarer tactical move.
