Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest Sells $75M Worth of Coinbase Stock

Cathie Wood’s Ark Investment Management, through its flagship products – ARK Innovation ETF, ARK Next Generation Internet ETF, and Fintech Innovation –  dumped a total of 1.41 million (Worth approx. $75 million) in Coinbase stock (COIN) on Tuesday, according to a Bloomberg report.

Ark Invest Dumps $75M in Coinbase Stock

ARK Innovation ETF sold the highest amount, dumping 1.13 million shares, ARK Next Generation Internet ETF sold 174,611 shares, and ARK Fintech Innovation ETF dumped 110,218 shares.

COIN fell more than 21% on Tuesday and closed at $52.93. According to data from Unusual Whales, Ark bought COIN at an average price of $254.65, which means the company has lost a significant value by selling at Tuesday’s price.

Ark has been accumulating Coinbase stock since the exchange went public last year. The investment firm last purchased COIN in May 2022 and at the end of Q2, the company held about 8.95 million shares, making it one of Coinbase’s largest shareholders. 

SEC Launches Probes Into Coinbase

The move by Ark follows reports of Coinbase being investigated by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for alleged securities listings within its platform.

The probe began prior to the SEC’s investigation last week into a cryptocurrency insider trading scam involving an ex-Coinbase manager, who allegedly helped his brother and a friend to buy tokens before being listed on the platform, and netting over $1.1 million in illegal profits.

The SEC claims that 9 tokens traded in the scheme are unregistered securities. However, Coinbase has denied such claims, saying that it does not list securities on its platform.

Ark may have sold its shares in the company before the case between the SEC and Coinbase escalates, which could further drive the price of COIN down.

The recent crypto bear market has also further driven the price of Coinbase stock to drop, losing more than 70% of its value this year.

Last month, analysts at multinational investment bank Goldman Sachs downgraded Coinbase stock from neutral to sell, lowering the price target from $70 to $45.