- Cathie Wood is one of the biggest Bitcoin bulls, but her investment firm is disposing of its Coinbase holdings, selling $30 million worth of COIN shares in the past few days.
- While some speculate that Wood believes the Bitcoin spot ETF approval will be a “sell the news” event, the fund’s history shows that it sells any holding that exceeds 10% of the total holdings.
Cathie Wood has been one of the voices calling for a Bitcoin spot ETF and has said she’s confident that one is forthcoming this month. However, as we approach the SEC’s approval, the former Wall Street titan is dumping Coinbase shares in what observers say is an anticipation of a “sell the news” event that could see Bitcoin lose much of the value it has gained over the past month.
On Wednesday, Ark Invest, which Wood founded in 2014 and at one time managed over $50 billion in assets, sold over $25 million in COIN shares from two of its exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
From its Innovation ETF, known as ARKK, the St. Petersburg, Florida-based firm offloaded over 145,000 shares, while the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF, known as ARKW, disposed of just over 21,000 shares, cumulatively worth $25.3 million.
The day before, on January 2, Wood’s company sold 3,360 shares worth just under $600,000. In its latest dump, the company sold 26,743 shares worth $4 million on January 4 and another massive 113,000 shares on January 5 for $20 million.
Cathie Wood, Bitcoin Spot ETF and Coinbase
Since December 28, when Cathie started selling off her holdings in crypto entities, the share price of Coinbase has dipped from $187 to trade at $154 at press time. This was after a parabolic run in 2023 in which the stock price gained 400%, a higher gain than some of the companies making headlines, like Nvidia, which gained 250%.
The price surge for Coinbase has been directly linked to the speculation of a crypto spot ETF, which many industry stakeholders expect to be approved in the coming week. Coinbase is the custodian for the significant traditional financial institutions offering the ETFs, including BlackRock.
While some attribute the sales to Wood’s anticipation that BTC will dump after the ETF is approved, Ark Invest has an investing principle that ensures that no single asset or holding accounts for over 10% of the overall ETF. With Coinbase shares constantly rising last year, the company had to sell off some of its COIN holdings to maintain the ratio.
Coinbase isn’t the only casualty. As CNF reported, Wood has also dumped shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which could also be one of the products that the SEC approves to be turned into a Bitcoin spot ETF. The company has, however, shown its commitment to Bitcoin by reinvesting in the ProShares’ Bitcoin futures ETF (BITO). Analysts believe this is a temporary parking spot for its money as it awaits approval of its ETF applications.
