Quick Take
  • ARK also bought $1.52 million worth of Bullish, $878,794 in Robinhood, and an additional $2.8 million of its own ARK-21Shares Bitcoin ETF.
  • ARKK also holds $179 million in Circle, or 2.39% of the fund, and $85.2 million in Block.
  • ARK’s renewed buying arrives as crypto-related equities face sharp monthly declines and thinning market liquidity.
  • Block is down 20.54% over the past month despite closing up 2.96% on Tuesday.

What Happened

Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest pushed deeper into the crypto sector this week, adding another wave of purchases across several beaten-down digital-asset-linked stocks as the broader market continued to slide.

The investment firm spent more than $93 million on Tuesday alone, extending a month-long pattern of buying into weakness as crypto equities struggle to recover from sharp November losses.

ARK Invest Absorbs the Sell-Off; Last Week It Added $42M in Crypto Stocks

The downturn has not slowed ARK Invest’s strategy of buying into falling markets.

The firm bought nearly $17 million of Bullish as the stock dropped 3.6%, added $15 million of Circle during an almost 9% decline, and invested about $7.6 million in BitMine as it fell sharply.

Earlier, on November 4, ARK purchased $11.98 million more of Bullish, bringing its total investment in the exchange to more than $209 million since its August listing.

ARK Invest’s Volatile Track Record Raises Questions About Long-Term Crypto Bet

Notably, the ARK Invest portfolio, now worth $14.7 billion, aims to focus on innovative and disruptive companies

Wood’s investment style also departs from traditional valuation frameworks, which emphasize cash flow, margins, and near-term earnings visibility.

Market Context

ARK’s renewed buying arrives as crypto-related equities face sharp monthly declines and thinning market liquidity.

The sell-off has broadly tracked the weakness in digital assets, with Bitcoin now trading below $88,000 after peaking at $126,000 just six weeks ago.

Why It Matters

Whether this strategy will prove profitable remains uncertain. ARK has historically embraced a high-risk, long-horizon approach centered on disruptive technologies.

Details

Cathie Wood Doubles Down on Crypto Equities as Sector Posts Its Sharpest Monthly Drop

The latest accumulation came on Tuesday, when ARK disclosed new purchases worth $13.5 million in Block, $7.6 million in Circle Internet Group, and $3.86 million in Coinbase.

ARK also bought $1.52 million worth of Bullish, $878,794 in Robinhood, and an additional $2.8 million of its own ARK-21Shares Bitcoin ETF.

Most of the buying activity flowed through the flagship ARK Innovation ETF, where Coinbase remains the fourth-largest holding at $391 million, representing 5.22% of the portfolio. ARKK also holds $179 million in Circle, or 2.39% of the fund, and $85.2 million in Block.

Block is down 20.54% over the past month despite closing up 2.96% on Tuesday. Circle has fallen 51.07% from its late-October level, and Coinbase has dropped 30% over the past month.

On November 20, ARK executed one of its largest single-day allocations of the month, deploying $42 million across Bullish, Circle, and BitMine Immersion Technologies.

ARK has also extended the dip-buying strategy beyond crypto. The firm increased its position in CoreWeave after the stock fell nearly 45% in recent weeks and resumed purchasing Nvidia in November following the chipmaker’s post-earnings pullback.

It also added stakes in Klarna, Roblox, and other tech names that have faced significant declines since mid-October.

This model delivered exceptional returns in 2020 when ARKK rose more than 150%, but the momentum reversed sharply in 2021 and 2022. ARKK fell nearly 67% during that period and has struggled to reclaim those highs.

The fund posted negative returns across the last six and three months and saw heavy outflows in recent weeks.

Other funds rarely mirror ARK’s approach because it depends on a concentrated portfolio, long-term conviction, and a tolerance for extended drawdowns.

Most institutional funds prioritize stability and diversification. Their mandates often limit large exposures to volatile, unprofitable, or highly correlated companies.