ARK at IPO bought 4.49 million Circle shares which is a value of about $373 million. In June 16 and 17 they sold off 642,766 shares across their flagship ETFs ARKK, ARKW, and ARKF in which they locked in a profit of $96.5 million. Also they sold off 14% of their Circle holdings but still hold onto over 4.15 million shares which are now worth around $628 million. A retreat or a re-balance? Only Cathie knows.
Circle Shares Surge Post-IPO, Then Stumble
The fire set on June 5 when Circle’s shares hit the NYSE at $31 which then shot up 234% on day one, to close over $100. By June 18 the stock hit a reportable high of $200.90 which in turn raised its market cap past $48 billion. That saw a 6.5x rise in under two weeks which even the optimistic analysts did not see coming.
Passage of the breakthrough is the GENI001 Act, a piece or bill that put in place the regulation for stable coins like USDC. In that strict reserve requirements, institutional oversight and Treasury audits the legislation fit almost exactly with Circle’s which was by then already in compliance. CEO Jeremy Allaire reported it to be the making of history. Markets agreed that Circle shares were pivotal in this context.
ARK Invest’s Calculated Retreat
For the ARK team that could not have been more perfect. They bought into the shares of Circle at around $96 and sold for over $150. Large profits which also played into ARK’s approach of selling what did well and putting money into the next big thing, like institutional crypto ETFs.
Even as ARK was selling Circle stock they bought into Nvidia and DoorDash and at the same time reduced positions in Meta. In context this isn’t panic, it is ARK’s way of managing the portfolio. ARK still believes in Circle shares’ mission, they are just taking profit off the table after a strong run up.
Genius Act Improves Circle’s Standing, What of the Future?
The passage of the GENIUS Act did in fact cause Circle’s stock to see great growth but with greater scrutiny now a factor in the stablecoin sector the bar is raised high. The legislation breaks in favor of companies which have large reserves, transparency, and regulatory compliance all of which Circle has.
Rivals including Tether are taking over in terms of market share. Political stablecoins like USD1 which are related to the Trump world are coming into play. Circle shares face growing competition, as noted in their official SEC filing, and in crypto, loyalty is rare.
