Ark Invest Founder Cathie Wood To Invest in Canadian Bitcoin ETFs

Cathie Wood-led firm Ark Investment Management has revised the prospectus for its ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) to open the possibility of investing in crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in Canada. 

What Happened: According to the filling with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the fund may invest in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) or “other pooled investment vehicles that invest in bitcoin BTC/USD, such as exchange-traded funds that are domiciled and listed for trading in Canada (Canadian Bitcoin ETFs).” 

In a recent tweet, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas speculated that Ark was looking to replace ARKW’s investment in GBTC with a Canadian ETF.

He said, “INTERESTING: ARK just amended the prospectus for ‪$ARKW to say the fund may invest in crypto ETFs in Canada. My guess is they looking to swap out ‪$GBTC, which they own $350m worth for one of the Canadian ETFs, which tracks better. ‪$BLOK just did this.”

He also mentioned that GBTC is down 22% year-to-date, while the Canadian ETF has dropped 6%. “That’s pretty significant dispersion,” he wrote. “I’m sure that’s irking them.”

Ark holds over 8.5 million shares of GBTC, which is the second-largest holding in the fund.

Last month, Yassine Elmandjra, a crypto analyst at ARK Invest, said that the total cryptocurrency exchange trading volume is approaching $16 trillion and is already more than eight times what it was for the entirety of last year. 

Photo: Courtesy of Unsplash