Cathie Wood, the founder and CEO of Ark Invest, once again demonstrated her signature contrarian strategy on Tuesday when Bitcoin prices tumbled below the $30,000 mark. According to disclosed trading records, Ark Invest acquired more than one million shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) for its ARK Next Generation Internet ETF, while also increasing its position in Coinbase Global Inc.
Ark Invest Buys 1 Million GBTC Shares
On June 22, 2021, the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF purchased 1,031,866 shares of GBTC, investing approximately $23.8 million at the prevailing market price. This addition brought the fund's total GBTC holdings to over 8 million shares, representing nearly $240 million in Bitcoin exposure. Wood has long maintained a bullish outlook on Bitcoin, predicting it could reach a long-term price of $500,000 and calling it a key component of a new digital financial system. The dip purchase is a concrete embodiment of her conviction.
GBTC Discount Narrows, Yielding 10% Relative Gain
Within just 48 hours of Wood's purchase, Bitcoin bounced back above the $30,000 level, validating the timing of the buy. More notably, the discount at which GBTC shares traded relative to the net asset value (NAV) of underlying Bitcoin narrowed from around 12% the previous week to approximately 4%. This means that Ark's GBTC position has already outperformed direct Bitcoin ownership by nearly 10% due to the closing discount. Analysts suggest that Ark's large buy may have triggered a wave of institutional demand, helping to compress the spread.
Ark also added 201,000 Coinbase shares during the same dip, raising its total stake to 3,631,850 shares, worth roughly $821 million. Despite Coinbase's lackluster performance since its direct listing, Wood remains confident that the exchange will thrive as the regulated gateway for crypto adoption. This is not the first time Ark has bought the dip on Coinbase; the firm previously purchased 1.2 million shares in May 2021.
Wood, who gained a near-prophetic reputation after predicting Tesla's meteoric rise, is now applying the same “buy the fear” strategy to digital assets. With Bitcoin stabilizing above $30K, the market watches closely to see whether her bold bet will yield another legendary win.