Ark Invest Snaps Up $42M In Circle, Bullish & Bitmine Despite Brutal 9.6% Stock Crash

What Happened

Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest leaned further into the crypto sector on Wednesday, expanding its positions across Bullish, Circle Internet Group, and BitMine Immersion Technologies, even as all three stocks suffered steep intraday losses and broader crypto equities continued their slide from October highs.

The investment arrived as Bullish shares slid another 3.63% during the session to close at $36.39 before recovering slightly in after-hours trading.

ARKK acquired 150,518 shares, while ARKW bought 43,174 and ARKF added 22,327, amounting to around $15 million in new Circle holdings.

ARK Invest’s Crypto Exposure Tops $2.15B as It Continues Buying Bullish

Bullish shares remain down roughly 47% from their listing price despite periodic rebounds. ARK initially invested $172 million at $37 per share when the exchange listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Market Context

BitMine, whose business has shifted toward accumulating Ethereum on its balance sheet, dropped 9.5% to $29.18 before recovering more than 6% in late trading.

Bullish’s earnings had previously shown weaker revenue but improving profitability, and the back-to-back allocations were interpreted as a sign that ARK expects the exchange’s fundamentals to strengthen once market volatility eases.

Bitcoin remained off its October highs as the broader market continued to unwind, and crypto-exposed stocks mirrored the downturn.

Even large-cap names faced pressure: Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin treasury company, Strategy, dropped 9.82% during Wednesday’s session before recovering some losses after hours.

Why It Matters

According to ARK’s latest daily trade disclosure, the firm executed a combined $42 million in purchases across its flagship ETFs, marking one of its most aggressive single-day crypto allocations this month.

The move extends ARK’s pattern of buying into weakness after a wave of red hit both crypto assets and crypto-linked equities throughout November.

Details

Why Is Cathie Wood Buying the Dip Again as Crypto Stocks Crash?

ARK’s largest commitment once again went to Bullish, the Peter Thiel-backed crypto exchange whose stock has been under heavy pressure in recent weeks.

The ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) accumulated 322,917 shares, while ARKW bought 92,670 and ARKF added 48,011, bringing Wednesday’s total Bullish purchase to roughly $16.8 million.

The firm also continued its accumulation of Circle, the company behind the USDC stablecoin and one of ARK’s fastest-growing crypto exposures.

Circle’s stock was one of the worst performers among crypto-exposed equities on Wednesday, falling nearly 9% to $69.72 before staging a mild after-hours rebound.

ARK rounded out the day with increased exposure to BitMine Immersion Technologies, purchasing a combined 260,651 shares across the three ETFs, valued at roughly $7.6 million.

The latest buys come just days after ARK made a $10.2 million acquisition of BitMine shares on Monday, when the stock hit a fresh record low. The firm had also purchased $10.2 million in

Bullish stock earlier this week, timed one day before the exchange’s third-quarter earnings report.

This week’s trades also add to a broader pattern seen throughout November.

ARK has repeatedly increased its exposure to Bullish, including an additional $11.98 million purchase earlier this month.

Notably, that purchase pushed its total Bullish position above $209 million since the exchange’s public debut in August.

The renewed wave of buying follows what has been one of the toughest stretches for crypto equities since early 2024.

Circle and BitMine suffered some of the sharpest declines, while Bullish extended a months-long slowdown.