Ark Investment adjusts positions: abandons Peter Thiel shares and reinvests in the big three crypto players

According to Woofun AI, ARK Invest (ARK Invest) carried out a significant round of crypto-related asset position adjustments on Monday. The core actions included a significant increase in Coinbase (COIN.US), Circle (CRCL.US), and Robinhood (HOOD.US), and simultaneously clearing Bullish (BLSH.US) platform shares supported by Peter Thiel.

This operation not only reflects Cathie Wood's continued optimism about leading crypto infrastructure companies, but also reveals her risk aversion strategies in the face of regulatory uncertainty. Although market opinions are divided as the midterm elections approach, Ark Investment has established its position to go long in the crypto sector this week through accurate purchases made by multiple ETF funds.

In terms of specific position adjustments, Ark Investment had the strongest buying power for Coinbase. The agency purchased 3,041 shares through the ARK Blockchain & Fintech Innovation ETF (code: ARKF), 17,077 shares through the ARK Innovation ETF (code: ARKK), and 4,672 shares through the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (code: ARKW). The total trading value of this batch of 24,790 shares was approximately $3.4 million based on Monday's closing price of $137.83.

Notably, this contrarian position increase occurred on the same day that Morgan Stanley (MS.US) analyst Michael Cyprys (Michael Cyprys) downgraded Coinbase's rating from “neutral” to “reduced holdings.” Cypress drastically lowered its target share price from $258 to $120. Its bearish logic was mainly based on the decline in Coinbase trading activity, weak revenue growth prospects, and industry uncertainty caused by Binance's hacking attack.

However, it seems that Ark Investment's actions were not shaken by these short-term downsides; instead, they chose to lay out in the midst of market pessimism.

According to data compiled by Woofun AI, Ark Investment's increase in Circle's holdings is also impressive. The agency purchased 6,738 shares through ARKF, 22,707 shares through ARKK, and 6,212 shares through ARKW, for a total of 35,657 shares. Based on Monday's closing price of $72.08, the deal was worth around $2.6 million. Previously, on October 27, Ark Investments purchased 35,403 Circle shares through ARKW, showing continued intention to open positions.

This series of operations coincided with the US Monetary Authority promulgating final regulations in October to regulate the issuance of payment stablecoins and related businesses by institutions under its supervision. As the issuer of the mainstream stablecoin USDC, Circle directly benefits from this clarification of the regulatory framework.

Additionally, Ark Investments purchased 7,703 Robinhood shares through ARKF, worth approximately $645,819 at Monday's closing price of $83.84. Looking back on October 28, the agency purchased a total of 99,418 Robinhood shares through three funds, with a total transaction value of about US$9.1 million on the same day, indicating its determination to allocate this retail trading platform for the long term.

On the selling side, Ark Investments completely withdrew from Bullish's holdings. The agency sold 28,798 shares through ARKF, 50,196 shares through ARKK, and 25,178 shares through ARKW, for a total of 104,172 shares. Based on Monday's closing price of $22.54, the total amount of liquidations was approximately $2.35 million. Bullish, a crypto exchange backed by Peter Thiel, is scheduled to announce third-quarter results on November 18.

Although it announced second-quarter adjusted revenue of $92.6 million in August of this year, up 62% year over year, higher than market expectations of $87.81 million, adjusted earnings per share were only 9 cents, slightly lower than market expectations; adjusted net profit for the quarter was $14.3 million, and the market forecast was $15.1 million.

Meanwhile, Robinhood reported third-quarter revenue last week at a record high of $1,424 million, up 12% year over year. Among them, revenue from the forecast market (event contracts) increased more than fivefold to $173 million, while revenue from the cryptocurrency business fell 55% to only $120 million. Robinhood's adjusted operating expenses and equity incentives for the quarter totaled $664 million, falling within the guidance range, while lowering the annual guidance cap by $25 million. In terms of the Bitcoin market, analyst Ali Martinez pointed out that $73,000 is a key price that needs to be closely watched, and some believe that Bitcoin has bottomed out. Ark Investment's position adjustment is a re-calibration of the risk-benefit ratio in a complex environment where clear regulations in the crypto industry are intertwined with the fragmented financial reports of leading companies.