As Bitcoin rallied to $35K, Ark Invest moved to cash out on some Bitcoin-related funds, such as GBTC and COIN.
On October 24, Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, reached a 17-month high, touching $35,066.
Amidst the rally, Ark Invest, an asset manager with nearly $7 billion AUM, offloaded $5.8M in Bitcoin-related funds, including Coinbase and GBTC shares.
A trade information newsletter reveals the company sold 42,613 shares of Coinbase (COIN) and 100,739 shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) on Monday evening.
Read more: ARK Invest modifies Bitcoin ETF application to include surveillance agreement
Of the COIN shares, Ark’s Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) sold 32,158 shares, and Ark Fintech Innovation ETF sold 10,455. Through the COIN sale, the firm raised $3.29 million at a closing price of $77.21.
Of GBTC, the company sold 100,739 at a closing price of $24.70, raising $2.4 million.
Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood is a long-time Bitcoin bull and has called crypto a true “money revolution”.
The company is also the second-largest shareholder of GBTC, and it was one of the first major asset managers to file for a spot Bitcoin ETF.
The SEC must revisit Grayscale’s Bitcoin ETF application
GBTC has been on an upward trajectory this month, gaining 30% in 30 days, but it received a substantial boost yesterday following a fresh Court of Appeals ruling. The ruling compels the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to review Grayscale’s application to convert GBTC into a spot Bitcoin ETF.
The SEC initially rejected the application, but the Court ruled in August that the decision was “arbitrary and capricious”.
The update has spurred on positive sentiment within the market, pushing GBTC to $24.7, the highest it’s been since May 2022.
If Grayscale’s application is approved, it’s very likely that Ark Invest’s ETF will also receive approval.
The company has already submitted various amendments in its application to boost its chances of approval – such as including a surveillance sharing agreement.
Read more: ARK Invest modifies Bitcoin ETF application to include surveillance agreement
BlackRock’s ETF also looks more likely
Bitcoin’s whirlwind rise to $35K was primarily driven by speculation that the SEC is looking toward approving BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF application.
Both Grayscale and Ark Invest are small fish compared with BlackRock, which has $9 trillion AUM.
Speculation was confirmed by Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst and Bloomberg, who tweeted that the iShares Bitcoin Trust (BlackRock’s ETF) has been listed on the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, which clears NASDAQ trades.
“And the ticker will be $IBTC. Again all part of the process of bringing ETF to market,” he wrote.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $34,449, a 21% increase from last week.
Disclaimer: CryptoPlug does not recommend that any cryptocurrency should be bought, sold, or held by you. Do conduct your own due diligence and consult your financial advisor before making any investment decisions.
