Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest Sells More Coinbase Stock as Crypto Markets Nosedive

Cathie Wood’s asset management firm ARK Invest has again sold some of its Coinbase stock (NASDAQ: COIN), offloading over 12,000 shares worth $2.7 million just as the crypto market takes a plunge. 

A Wednesday filing showed that the firm—which invests heavily in emerging tech—sold the shares from its Next Generation Internet exchange-traded fund (ARKW). 

The fund focuses on companies working on evolving internet technology such as “new payment methods, big data, the internet of things, and social distribution and media.” ARKW also gives investors exposure to electric car company Tesla, Meta (formerly Facebook), Jack Dorsey’s Bitcoin-focused fintech company Block, and others. 

The sell-off comes despite Wood praising Coinbase—and the crypto industry—over the past year. ARK Invest’s various ETFs have sold hundreds of millions worth of COIN since January.

But the sales should not necessarily be interpreted as Wood turning sour on Coinbase. It’s more likely part of the firm’s investment strategy, selling shares at a profit while rebalancing its portfolio. Wood’s ARK bought millions worth of COIN shares throughout late 2022 and 2023, and at much lower prices. Coinbase still makes up a significant chunk of ARKW, and Wood’s investment firm is one the largest investors in the San Francisco-based exchange, with over 3.3 million shares priced with a market value of over $703 million across three ETFs. 

Wood, an investor whose funds have made huge gains and crushing losses for investors, is also a Bitcoin bull: she once said the asset could reach $1 million per coin. 

Coinbase is America’s biggest crypto exchange and one of the biggest crypto brands in the world. The San Francisco-based company, which allows users to buy and sell digital assets, went public in 2021. 

Its stock is down today over 3%, trading for $216.78 a pop. Over a 30-day period, it has shed over 7%. Since late 2022, however, when it was priced at under $35 per share, Coinbase stock is up over 500%.

Coinbase is not the only crypto company suffering today, either: other publicly traded firms are in the red as the digital asset market experiences a wider sell-off. 

“Bitcoin development company” and business intelligence firm MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR)—which is the largest public holder of Bitcoin—is down over 7%, priced at $1,500 per share. While Bitcoin miners Marathon Digital (MARA) and Riot (RIOT) have dipped nearly 8% and 6%, respectively. 

Such publicly traded companies give investors exposure to the crypto space without them having to buy cryptocurrencies and store them. But when Bitcoin and the hundreds of other digital coins and tokens experience a sell-off like they have done today, safer digital asset investments like mining stocks and crypto companies often plunge too. 

Bitcoin is now down by 6% in the past 24 hours, trading hands for $62,564. Every other major cryptocurrency has also dipped in value.