Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest has maintained its strategic investment approach by accumulating shares of its Ark 21Shares Spot Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) for inclusion in its Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW), according to the company’s latest trade filing seen by CryptoSlate.
In this recent transaction, ARK Invest acquired 523,541 ARKB shares at $21 million while divesting 648,091 units of ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) for $12.85 million.
This move continues ARK’s effort to bolster its position in its BTC-based spot ETF. On Jan. 17, CryptoSlate reported that the firm acquired its first tranche of ARKB’s ETF shares for $15.8 million after selling a significant sum of its BITO holdings.
At the time, market observers explained that the investment would help ARKB’s competitive position in the market. Nate Geraci, founder of ETF Store, said, “Rightly or wrongly, assets under management (AUM) optics matter in spot bitcoin ETF competition.”
Lukas Kozak, a hedge fund manager, also clarified that ARK’s transition from BITO’s futures to its spot products aligns with industry expectations.
According to him, this shift can be attributed to lower fees resulting from the increased competition in the ETF market and the absence of the need to roll positions into the following quarters, enhancing the appeal of their spot product.
Presently, ARK Invest holds 1.5 million ARKB shares, amounting to $62.87 million, constituting approximately 4% of ARKW’s portfolio. ARKB has secured a position among the top 15 holdings within ARKW’s portfolio.
Conversely, BITO has seen a decline in its standing, now ranking as the 20th-largest holding in ARKW, representing about 2% of the total holdings.
ARKB is one of the best-performing ETFs among the “Newborn Nine.” According to Apollo ETF data, the ETF has an AUM of $380 million and holds more than 9000 units of the top cryptocurrency.
