"Circle Surges 600% and Peaks... ARK Invest Sells Off and Buys Up Other Stocks"

Cathie Wood Sells Shares in Stablecoin Issuer Circle
This Time, Invests in Coinbase and Robinhood

As the legislative process for stablecoins accelerates both domestically and internationally, ARK Invest, a leading U.S. technology stock investment firm headed by CEO Cathie Wood?often referred to as the "Money Tree Sister"?has recently sold a significant portion of its shares in Circle, a major stablecoin issuer. ARK Invest reallocated the proceeds from the sale by reinvesting in virtual asset trading platforms such as Coinbase and Robinhood, thereby adjusting its portfolio.

Cathie Wood, CEO of ARK Invest. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

On June 25 (local time), Bloomberg reported, "ARK Invest sold 1.5 million shares of Circle over the past four trading days. The sale amounted to approximately $333 million."

Previously, on June 5, the first day of Circle's initial public offering (IPO), three of ARK Invest's exchange-traded funds (ETFs) purchased 4.5 million shares of Circle for about $373 million. Afterward, Circle's stock price soared for several consecutive days following the passage of the so-called "GENIUS Act," a stablecoin-related bill, by the U.S. Senate. With Circle's stock price surging more than 600% after its listing, it appears that ARK Invest has recouped a substantial portion of its initial investment.

Athanasios Psarofagis, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, stated, "ARK Invest doubled its investment in less than a month," and added, "Selling while the stock price is skyrocketing is a typical strategy for ARK Invest." The proceeds from the sale were reinvested in other virtual asset-related companies. ARK Invest reportedly purchased approximately $1.3 million worth of Coinbase shares and about $24.4 million worth of Robinhood shares.

Circle is the issuer of USDC, which holds the second-largest market share in the global stablecoin market. Following its explosive stock price increase after listing, Circle has drawn attention as the largest cryptocurrency-related listing since Coinbase's direct listing in 2021. Its current market capitalization is about $50 billion, placing it on par with companies like Coinbase and Robinhood.