On Tuesday, ARK Invest purchased shares worth $15.9 million in its own spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), which was just listed. 365,427 shares of the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) were added to the Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) by Cathie Wood’s investing firm. Tuesday’s closing price for ARKB shares was $43.51, down around 11% from the $49 price at IPO on January 11.
Similar in value, $15.8 million, was sold by ARK for shares in the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO), the first exchange-traded fund (ETF) connected to the bitcoin futures market to list in the United States. Before the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) was transformed into a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), the company sold off its shares of GBTC in December. In preparation for the U.S. acceptance of spot bitcoin ETFs, ARK converted its GBTC shares to BITO. According to Cathie Wood, an approved fund offers greater security than one that is still pending approval.
Soon after the approval, it was anticipated that ARK will exchange a portion of its BITO shares for a spot bitcoin ETF.