Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest added 109,129 shares of Circle Internet Group (CRCL) worth approximately $6.83 million across three actively managed ETFs on July 31, the same day Circle secured a limited-purpose trust charter from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).
The NYDFS approval, recorded July 27, allows Circle Internet Trust Company LLC to operate under the name Circle New York Trust, providing fiduciary and custodial services under state banking supervision. This follows a long relationship: in 2015 Circle became the first firm to receive a BitLicense from the NYDFS. The new charter builds on that foundation, putting USDC’s issuer directly under “a robust and respected structure”, according to Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire.
Circle’s regulatory momentum also includes final approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in early July for a national trust bank, Circle National Trust. Together the state and federal charters create a dual oversight model rare among stablecoin issuers. Despite the milestone, CRCL stock fell 2.54% to $62.61, signaling investor caution on valuation and execution.
ARK’s purchases were balanced: the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) bought 77,103 shares (0.0833% of portfolio), ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) added 22,238 shares (0.0842%), and ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF) acquired 9,788 shares (0.0839%). The firm also rotated into artificial intelligence and digital assets, buying 298,243 shares of CoreWeave and a Solana staking ETF from 3iQ across ARKW and ARKF, while trimming positions in Shopify, CrowdStrike, Snowflake, and others. The trades underscore ARK’s strategy of reallocating into crypto infrastructure even amid weaker prices.
