Cathie Wood’s Ark continues its Coinbase and Block buying spree

Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest continued its Coinbase and Block buying spree, scooping up tens of thousands of shares in the tech growth names on Monday. 

The firm — which is known for its technology stock exchange-traded funds — purchased a further 32,378 shares in crypto exchange Coinbase for the Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) after acquiring more than 182,000 shares on Friday. It also purchased 5,347 Coinbase shares for its Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW). 

The firm’s Fintech Innovation (ARKF) fund, meanwhile, purchased 18,555 shares in Jack Dorsey’s Block, following a purchase of more than 288,000 shares across three of its funds on Friday. 

Ark’s trading activity indicates Wood’s unwavering conviction in two names that have faced negative headlines in recent weeks. Coinbase received a Wells notice from the Securities and Exchange Commission over its listing practices and staking service, the company revealed last week. That development could put the exchange’s business model into question, as Needham analyst John Todaro recently noted. 

As for Block, the payments firm faces a litany of accusations from short seller Hindenburg Research, which claims the its flagship product Cash App — which supports bitcoin buys — lacked proper compliance controls, inflated its user numbers and facilitated crime. Block is exploring legal action against Hindenburg and described their report as “factually inaccurate and misleading.”

US banks collapse

Ark’s recent buys shouldn’t come as a surprise given Wood’s conviction on crypto in the wake of the meltdown of several community banks in the U.S., including the likes of Silvergate and Silicon Valley Bank. 

“It was fascinating to see bitcoin and other crypto assets appreciate as regional bank stocks imploded… just like gold,” Wood noted in a recent video interview. 

“Coinbase has been prepared, they’ve been preparing for this,” she said referring to Coinbase’s brouhaha with the SEC. “In the interim I think this becomes a national election issue.”

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