ARK Invest continued its trend of selling ProShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (BITO) shares over the past week, while concurrently building its position in its proprietary spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund.
Cathie Wood’s investment firm divested a total of 2,226,191 shares of the bitcoin futures ETF since January 19, valued at approximately $42.8 million based on Thursday’s closing price of $19.22. These shares were liquidated from its Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW).
Simultaneously, ARK Invest acquired 1,563,619 shares of the ARK 21 Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), amounting to roughly $62.3 million. ARKB closed at $39.87 on Thursday, registering a minimal 0.68% increase for the day.
Having previously offloaded its shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) in late 2021 in anticipation of the approval of spot bitcoin ETFs in the U.S., ARK viewed BITO as a short-term play. The strategy was to exchange BITO for a spot bitcoin ETF once the regulatory approval materialized.
Currently, ARKW holds $91.4 million worth of ARKB, constituting a 5.98% weighting of the fund’s total value. In contrast, its BITO shares have dwindled to just 366,128, valued at $7 million, representing a 0.46% weighting. This strategic shift showcases ARK Invest’s dynamic approach to navigating the evolving landscape of the cryptocurrency market.
