ARK Divests $2.5m in Grayscale Bitcoin Trust Amidst Anticipation of BTC ETF
Summary:
Investment firm ARK has sold $2.5 million worth of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) shares as part of its portfolio reshuffling amidst the rise in Bitcoin market spurred by anticipation of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The move marks ARK’s first sale of GBTC shares since November 2022. Some speculate this decision may be linked to ARK's pending Bitcoin-based ETF filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
In a bullish market fuelled by the prospect of a Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF), Cathie Wood helmed investment house ARK has divested Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) shares. On October 23, ARK jettisoned 100,739 GBTC shares ($2.5 million), a move detected in a trade notification viewed by Cointelegraph. This sale comes against the backdrop of GBTC hitting peak levels in several months, clocking $24.7; it's highest value since May 2022. Year-to-date, GBTC has enjoyed an impressive 200% surge, with a near 30% uptick in the last month alone.
This sale signals ARK's first publicly confirmed GBTC transaction since November 2022 when it augmented ARKW with 450,272 GBTC shares valued at $4.5 million. As of October 23, the recent GBTC divestment represents roughly 2% ($122.6 million) of the total GBTC held in the ARKW portfolio. GBTC ranks as ARKW's most significant asset, making up 10.4% of the product's exposure, followed by Coinbase and Roku shares at 9% and 7.4% respectively.
Bitcoin proponent Samson Mow has opined that ARK's GBTC sale may be tethered to the firm's awaiting verdict from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) concerning its filing to list a Bitcoin-oriented ETF. Grayscale lodged a new BTC ETF registration with the SEC on October 19, shortly after ARK tweaked its spot Bitcoin ETF filing on October 11.
ARK's move to offload GBTC comes at the opportune time as the discount is shrinking and with their ETF filing awaiting approval, Mow shared with Cointelegraph. Several digital traders have also guessed that should ARK gain approval for a spot Bitcoin ETF, the firm would most likely shift its ETF as the primary holding in ARKW and dump GBTC.
ARK did not promptly get back to Cointelegraph for a comment. Besides offloading GBTC, ARK also sold 32,158 Coinbase (COIN) shares from ARKW and 10,455 COIN shares from ARK Fintech Innovation fund, totalling $3.4 million. On October 23, investment house ARK bought 32,158 Robinhood (HOOD) shares ($300,000) for the ARKW fund.
Published At
10/24/2023 11:46:22 AM
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