ARK buys $21M of 3iQ Ether staking ETF, dumps $14.6M in Coinbase

Cryptocurrency-related trades are again gathering steam at Cathie Wood’s investment firm ARK Invest as it’s back to trading tens of millions of dollars in crypto-related stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETF) in one day.

After resuming significant Coinbase (COIN) sales in July, ARK increased COIN selling in August 2024, dumping 69,069 COIN shares on Aug. 1, according to trading data seen by Cointelegraph. Based on the stock’s close price, the amount is worth $14.7 million, according to data from TradingView.

The transaction is ARK’s biggest Coinbase sale since early April and late March when the firm dumped around 60,000 COIN shares daily.

Despite resuming heavy Coinbase sales, ARK’s funds still hold a significant share of Coinbase shares. As of Aug. 2, Coinbase is the top asset in the ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF), accounting for nearly 10% of the fund’s portfolio.

ARK’s massive Coinbase sale came amid Coinbase reporting $1.4 billion in total revenue in the second quarter of 2024.

“The performance seen over this quarter demonstrates the extraordinary progress we as a company have made toward driving regulatory clarity on a global scale,” said Tom Duff Gordon, Coinbase’s vice president of international policy.

ARK debuts buying 3iQ Ether staking ETF

While dumping Coinbase, ARK has made its first purchase of the Canadian 3iQ Ether staking ETF (ETHQ.U), a fund seeking long-term capital appreciation by investing in Ether (ETH) and generating passive rewards through staking.

After launching the fund as the 3iQ Ether ETF in 2021, 3iQ expanded the product with staking in 2023 in collaboration with Coinbase and Tetra Trust.

According to ARK’s trading data, the firm purchased 1.7 million ETHQ.U shares on Aug. 1, totaling $21 million, according to TradingView data. Around 1 million ETHQ.U shares from this amount were allocated by the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW), with the remaining 651,713 shares purchased through the ARK Fintech Innovation ETF.

Closing at $12.3 on Aug. 1, the 3iQ Ether staking ETF has seen significant growth in recent months, surging around 40% year to date.

ARK sells its own spot Bitcoin ETF and Robinhood shares

In addition to selling the Coinbase stock, ARK has also dumped some shares from its Robinhood (HOOD) stash and its own spot Bitcoin ETF, the ARK Invest and 21Shares (ARKB). ARK's spot Bitcoin ETF debuted trading in the United States alongside nine other spot Bitcoin ETFs on Jan. 11, 2024.

Cathie Wood’s investment firm offloaded 108,751 ARKB shares from its ARKW fund on Aug. 1, totaling around $6.9 million, based on data from TradingView. ARK also dumped 282,435 Robinhood shares for $5.7 million.