Cathie Wood’s $5.8 Million Sale Amid Bitcoin Surge

Cathie Wood, a longtime Bitcoin bull, sold nearly $5.8 million in Coinbase and Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) shares on Monday, as the dominant cryptocurrency surged over 10%.

The most recent trade information newsletter from Ark Invest disclosed the sale of 42,613 COIN shares through ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) and ARK Fintech Innovation ETF for $3.29 million based on Monday evening’s closing price of $77.21.

In addition, the company sold 100,739 shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) for $2.48 million at the closing price of $24.70 per share.

The move occurred as Bitcoin surpassed $34,000, establishing a new 2023 record high. Ark Invest is the second-largest GBTC shareholder, with more than $130 million invested in the trust.

GBTC is the largest holding in ARKW, the firm’s fund that aims to invest actively in internet-based products and services, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, e-commerce, and media innovations, with a 10.42% weight. COIN represents 9.08% of ARKW’s portfolio.

COIN was up 130% since the beginning of the year as of Monday’s closing bell, while GBTC posted even more remarkable gains of 201% YTD.

Monday’s closing price for Grayscale’s premier Bitcoin fund was up 4.5% after the U.S. Court of Appeals ordered the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to reconsider Grayscale’s spot Bitcoin ETF application.

Grayscale sued the SEC last year for refusing to permit the conversion of GBTC into a spot Bitcoin ETF. In August, the court ruled that the SEC failed to “adequately explain” why it previously authorized the listing of Bitcoin futures ETFs but not Grayscale’s proposed product.

This was a significant victory for the investment firm. The SEC has repeatedly denied or postponed applications for spot Bitcoin ETFs, which allow investors to gain exposure to the leading cryptocurrency without physically possessing the asset, citing market manipulation concerns.

The most recent court ruling does not guarantee the successful conversion of GBTC to a Bitcoin ETF; the SEC can reject the conversion for other reasons.

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) listed a ticker for Blackrock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBTC)—another spot Bitcoin ETF that is awaiting a decision from the SEC.

This further bolstered the market. Cathie Wood, chief executive officer and chief investment officer of Ark Invest, has been a Bitcoin advocate for a long time, once predicting a $1 million price target for the dominant cryptocurrency.

The company is also in the running for the launch of a Bitcoin spot ETF, having submitted a second amended application for the proposed product this month.