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Cathie Wood's ARK Invest Sells 2% of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust Holdings as BTC Rallies

The fund also sold about $3.3 million worth of Coinbase shares (COIN) and bought $2.4 million shares of Robinhood (HOOD).

Updated Oct 24, 2023, 2:43 p.m. Published Oct 24, 2023, 2:18 p.m.
Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood (Marco Bello/Getty Images, modified by CoinDesk)
Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood (Marco Bello/Getty Images, modified by CoinDesk)

Cathie Wood's tech-focused investment manager, ARK Invest, has sold around $2.5 million in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) shares.

The fund sold 100,739 shares, equivalent to around 2% of ARK's Next Generation ETF (ARKW) holdings. The sale coincided with bitcoin [BTC] enjoying a bullish surge, which saw it rise above $34,000 for the first time in nearly 18 months. According to FactSet data, Ark holds about 5.6 million GBTC shares, making it the second-largest holder of the trust.

Read more: A Wild Few Minutes Drive Bitcoin Above $35,000 as ETF Excitement Starts to Thaw the Crypto Winter

Bitcoin's momentum is attributed to anticipation of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finally approving a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) after asset management giant BlackRock listed its proposed ETF on the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation database with the ticker $IBTC.

Grayscale's GBTC may also be in line to be approved as a spot ETF in the U.S. after its legal fight with the SEC over the rejection of Grayscale's application to convert the trust into an ETF was ruled in the investment firm's favor.

Ark also sold about $3.3 million worth of crypto exchange Coinbase shares (COIN) and bought $2.4 million shares of popular trading platform Robinhood (HOOD).

Cathie Wood's ARK has been known to load up on crypto-adjacent stocks when markets are depressed. This sale of GBTC shares would be an example of the inverse tactic - cashing in on a bullish mood to bank some profits.

Read More: All Spot-Bitcoin ETF Applications May be Approved Together, Crypto ETF Expert Predicts

Jamie Crawley

Jamie joined CoinDesk as a news reporter in February 2021 after writing widely about crypto and blockchain for two years in other roles. Away from crypto, Jamie runs a lot and loves all things sport. He holds small amounts of BTC, ETH, ADA and LTC.

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