Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest significantly increased its investment in the crypto exchange Bullish on Monday, acquiring $10.2 million worth of shares. This move occurred as Bullish's stock price declined to a new record low, reflecting a challenging period for publicly traded cryptocurrency companies.
According to ARK's daily trade disclosure, the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) purchased 191,195 shares of Bullish. Additionally, the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) acquired 56,660 shares, and the ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF) added 29,208 shares.
The investment from ARK Invest comes as Bullish (BLSH) experienced a 4.5% drop on Monday, closing at $36.75. This decline continues a downward trend that has seen the stock lose nearly 46% of its value over the past six months.
This buying activity precedes Bullish's third-quarter earnings report, which is scheduled for release on Wednesday. The exchange, which has received backing from Peter Thiel, reported $57 million in adjusted revenue for the second quarter, a decrease from $67 million in the same period last year. However, the company reported a net income of $108.3 million, a significant improvement from a net loss of $116.4 million in the prior year.
Crypto Stocks Face Market-Wide Sell-off
The cryptocurrency-linked equity market has experienced a sharp downturn amid the broader market crash. Mining companies and infrastructure providers have been particularly affected. Marathon Digital (MARA) saw a 4% decrease on Monday and has struggled to recover after a consistent decline over the past week. Riot Platforms (RIOT) and CleanSpark (CLSK) also closed lower on Monday.
MicroStrategy, the Bitcoin treasury company led by Michael Saylor, dropped 2% yesterday and has fallen by more than 18% in the last five trading sessions.
Circle (CRCL), the stablecoin issuer that went public earlier this year, also ended the day down by over 6%. The company's stock has declined more than 26% in the past five trading days.
Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, was also impacted by the market sell-off. COIN closed down 7% at $263.95, following a steady decline throughout the trading session, mirroring the broader selling pressure across risk assets.
Analysts Suggest Bitcoin May Be Nearing a Bottom
Tom Lee, chairman of BitMine, and Matt Hougan, chief information officer at Bitwise, believe that Bitcoin (BTC) may be approaching a market bottom as early as this week.
Lee attributed the recent market rout to lingering anxiety from the liquidation wave on October 10 and uncertainty surrounding potential interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in December. He indicated that technical signals suggest an exhaustion of the sell-off, drawing on insights from Tom Demar of Demar Analytics.
Hougan shared a similar perspective, describing the current price range as a "generational opportunity" for long-term investors. He cited several factors contributing to the downturn, including ETF outflows, significant selling by large holders (whales), geopolitical tensions, nervousness surrounding AI valuations, and concerns related to President Trump's tariff policies.