ARK Invest Shifts Strategy: Sells Bitcoin ETF to Buy Coinbase Shares Amid Tariff Uncertainty

ARK Invest sold $12M in Bitcoin ETFs and acquired $26.6M in Coinbase stock, signaling strategic realignment as Trump's proposed tariffs inject market volatility.

Cathie Wood's ARK divests ARKB shares while doubling down on COIN holdings, balancing tariff risks with long-term crypto infrastructure bets.

Strategic Pivot in Turbulent Markets

ARK Invest executed a $12 million sell-off of its ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) on July 11, 2024, while simultaneously purchasing $26.6 million in Coinbase (COIN) shares. This move comes as former President Trump's proposed 60% tariffs on Chinese imports sparked sector-wide repositioning. "We're seeing institutions hedge crypto exposure through regulated intermediaries rather than direct holdings," noted Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart in a July 12 market commentary.

Coinbase's Expanding Ecosystem Drives Confidence

ARK's COIN acquisition aligns with the exchange's Q2 2024 metrics showing 34% YoY revenue growth to $1.4 billion, driven by derivatives trading and Base network adoption. Cathie Wood emphasized in ARK's July 11 press release: "Coinbase's infrastructure role makes it a convexity play in crypto's institutional adoption curve." The firm now holds 9.2% of ARKW's portfolio in COIN versus 4.8% in Bitcoin ETFs.

Diverging Institutional Approaches

While ARK accumulates COIN, Farside Investors data reveals $273 million in Bitcoin ETF outflows between July 9-11. BlackRock's IBIT notably bucked the trend with $89 million inflows. "This bifurcation shows maturing strategies - some view exchanges as tariff-resistant proxies, others see macro headwinds demanding liquidity," analyzed CoinDesk's chief markets columnist David Z. Morris.

Historical Parallels and Strategic Calculus

ARK's maneuver echoes its 2020 Tesla rebalancing during pandemic volatility, preserving liquidity while maintaining tech exposure. The current pivot recognizes Coinbase's 78% institutional revenue growth in Q2 versus Bitcoin's 14% quarterly decline. Trump's 2018-2020 tariffs saw tech stocks underperform by 22% during implementation phases, suggesting ARK's move anticipates similar sector-specific impacts. As regulatory clarity improves post-FIT21 Act, intermediaries like Coinbase appear positioned to capture value regardless of underlying asset volatility.

https://redrobot.online/2025/04/ark-invest-shifts-strategy-sells-bitcoin-etf-to-buy-coinbase-shares-amid-tariff-uncertainty/