ARK Invest, Circle Stock Large-scale Sale… Profit Taking Amid Regulatory Benefits
America's leading innovative investment firm ARK Invest has once again significantly reduced its shareholding ratio by selling a large amount of shares in stablecoin issuer Circle. This is interpreted as an adjustment of the portfolio considering the skyrocketing stock price after Circle's IPO.
According to CoinDesk reports, ARK reduced its portfolio weight by about 1.8% by selling approximately 495,000 shares of Circle in its flagship ETF, ARKK. They also disposed of 75,018 shares and 43,608 shares in ARKW and ARKF, respectively. The value of the stocks sold on this day amounts to approximately $146.3 million at closing prices. This is the third and largest sale since Circle's listing.
Circle was listed on Nasdaq on June 5 at $31 per share, and in just two weeks, it surged to over $240, recording a yield of more than 670%. This upward trend was coupled with expectations of a clear regulatory framework for stablecoins, such as the passage of the 'GENIUS Act' by the U.S. Senate.
USDC issued by Circle currently records a circulating supply of about $61.2 billion, maintaining the position of the second-largest stablecoin in the market. Although Tether (USDT) still dominates the market with more than $155.8 billion, the use of USDC is rapidly expanding. Recently, Shopify started supporting USDC payments through the Ethereum Layer 2 network Base, and Coinbase's derivatives platform is also preparing to expand the derivatives market collateralized by USDC.
Meanwhile, ARK is increasing its weight in semiconductor and tech-related stocks instead of Circle. AMD, Shopify, and TSMC are the representative stocks included. This is seen as a strategic response as the cryptocurrency market, along with the AI and semiconductor sectors, is emerging as a new growth axis.
The skyrocketing stock price and regulatory benefits following Circle's IPO, as well as the expansion of ties with major platforms, show that stablecoins are establishing themselves as part of the global financial infrastructure beyond just a payment method. ARK's choice can be seen as a careful rebalancing in response to this.