ARK Invest, led by Cathie Wood, bought shares of Block Inc. and Circle Internet Group on Monday in trades totaling about $40.8 million, according to the source article, which cited recent SEC trading disclosures.
Block purchase spread across three ARK ETFs
The larger trade was a purchase of Block Inc. (NYSE: XYZ), the payments company founded by Jack Dorsey. ARK bought 456,059 shares worth about $37.4 million.
The purchases were split across three funds:
- ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK)
- ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW)
- ARK Blockchain & Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF)
The article said the allocation fits ARK’s internal rule that a single holding cannot exceed 10% of any ETF’s total assets, a structure meant to keep portfolio risk diversified. It also noted that ARK’s ETF lineup gives investors a way to gain exposure to crypto-linked companies without buying individual stocks directly.
Block closed Monday at $82.02, down 1.85%. The report described ARK’s move as a classic dip-buying trade. It also said this was not the first time ARK had added to Block during weakness. In August, ARK had already made large purchases after Block reported second-quarter earnings and raised its full-year profit forecast to $12.5 billion, up 21% year over year.
Circle also added as Bernstein backs the stock
In the same round of trading, ARK bought 35,192 shares of Circle Internet Group (NASDAQ: CRCL), worth about $3.36 million. Circle is the issuer of the USDC stablecoin.
Circle shares rose 9.65% on Monday to close at $95.55, rebounding quickly after a 7.5% drop on the previous Friday.
The article said Bernstein’s research team assigned Circle an Outperform rating last week and set a $140 price target. The reasons listed in the report were:
- Growth potential under changing macro and political conditions
- Expansion of real-world asset, or RWA, blockchain capital markets
- Rising adoption of stablecoin payments
- New use cases tied to AI agent payments, described as agentic payments
Circle shares have gained 52.6% over the past month. The article characterized ARK’s latest purchase as momentum buying rather than bottom-fishing.
Block still faces debate over costs and strategy
The report said ARK’s investment in Block is not without controversy. Although Block’s revenue beat expectations last quarter, Mizuho analysts raised concerns about higher operating costs.
According to the article, Block cut 40% of its workforce in February and shifted toward AI-led operations, while fixed costs and infrastructure investment remained in an expansion phase.
The company’s Bitcoin strategy was also described as a central point of debate in its business model. The article said Block has long held BTC and reinvested through cash flow, and that it sold $2.2 billion worth of Bitcoin in the past quarter to realize cash. That approach ties Block’s stock more closely to the crypto market than traditional payment companies such as Visa and Mastercard, leaving it more volatile during crypto downturns.
ARK keeps using listed equities for crypto exposure
The article said the purchases of both Block and Circle reflect Cathie Wood’s long-running approach of building positions through crypto-related stocks when sentiment cools. It added that ARK’s past trading pattern suggests crypto-linked names such as Block, Coinbase, and MicroStrategy are often sold too aggressively during periods of market fear, causing valuations to detach from fundamentals.
For ETF holders who cannot directly own BTC, these public companies serve as an indirect route into crypto exposure. The report also said ARK’s decision to add both Block and Circle at the same time shows a broader allocation approach, shifting from a single-focus Bitcoin trade to a more diversified basket of crypto-related equities.
The article added that investors watching crypto-related stocks can track changes in ARK ETF holdings for reference, with ARKF carrying the highest crypto-related weighting among the funds mentioned.