Cathie Wood Dumps $24 Million of This Crypto Company’s Stock at 2-Year High

Cathie Wood, the well-known investor and founder of ARK Invest, recently sold over $24 million worth of Coinbase stock as Bitcoin neared its all-time high. This move caused Coinbase’s stock price to drop by 5.2% and close at $216.77 on Tuesday. The sale was conducted through various ARK Invest funds, including ARK Innovation ETF, ARK Next Generation Internet ETF, and Ark Fintech Innovation ETF. Wood began reducing her stake in Coinbase due to the market’s bullish trend, with the ARKK fund’s holding nearly halving since October 2023. Despite the stock’s impressive 175% rally during this period, ARKK’s ownership decreased from around 7 million to approximately 4 million shares. The decision to sell coincided with operational difficulties faced by Coinbase, such as increased platform traffic leading to inaccurate account balances for some users. The recent surge in Coinbase’s stock price was fueled in part by BlackRock’s reapplication for a Bitcoin ETF that included Coinbase as a partner. This partnership highlighted Coinbase’s role in addressing the SEC’s concerns about spot Bitcoin ETFs and ongoing legal issues facing the exchange. Furthermore, Coinbase is named as the primary custodian for ten out of eleven recently approved Bitcoin ETFs. These developments defy earlier bearish predictions, including a forecast by Berenberg Capital in June 2023 stating a 50% drop in Coinbase stock with a target price of $39. JPMorgan analyst Kenneth Worthington also set a cautious $80 price target in January 2024, suggesting potential challenges ahead. However, Coinbase’s stock still remains about 50% below its all-time high from May 2021.