Cathie Wood’s investment firm, ARK Invest, known for its advocacy of Bitcoin and innovation, has taken an active stance in accumulating shares of the crypto-friendly app Robinhood.
On November 8, ARK made a significant purchase of Robinhood stock, acquiring a total of 1.1 million shares, amounting to approximately $9.5 million in a single day, according to a trade notification seen by Cointelegraph.
The purchase was executed through three of ARK’s innovation exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which include ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK), ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW), and ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF).
Among these ETFs, ARKK made the most substantial acquisition, purchasing 888,500 Robinhood shares, which constituted 78% of the entire daily buy. ARKW and ARKF acquired 152,849 shares and 99,697 shares, respectively.
This significant purchase comes after ARK’s previous steady acquisitions of Robinhood shares, although those were comparatively smaller. For example, on October 23, ARK acquired 197,285 Robinhood shares for its ARKW funds, following a purchase of 259,628 Robinhood shares the previous day.
The timing of this major acquisition coincided with Robinhood’s announcement on November 8 of its plans to expand into Europe in the coming weeks, particularly focusing on establishing brokerage operations in the United Kingdom. However, Robinhood’s stock experienced a decline of over 14% on the same day, following the company’s report of worse-than-expected results due to reduced trading activity and user numbers. According to TradingView data, Robinhood’s stock closed at $8.37 on November 8.
In addition to acquiring Robinhood shares, ARK Invest has continued to sell shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). On November 8, ARKW sold 48,477 GBTC shares for approximately $1.4 million. This follows another substantial sale of GBTC shares on November 6, when ARKW sold 139,506 shares, valued at nearly $4 million.
ARK initiated the selling of GBTC shares at the end of October 2022, marking a return to trading GBTC after a one-year hiatus. As of the time of writing, ARK has sold a total of 427,573 GBTC shares, amounting to about $11.9 million.
Notably, ARK has also announced the launch of new ETFs focusing on Bitcoin and Ether futures contracts in collaboration with its major crypto ETF partner, 21Shares. Both firms anticipate launching five new crypto products on the Chicago Board Options Exchange by November 16, as detailed in joint prospectuses.