- Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas reported that a significant portion of the company’s sales proceeds was directed towards purchasing shares of ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO).
- Balchunas disclosed that Cathie Wood’s company used half of the proceeds from the GBTC sale, approximately $100 million, to buy BITO.
- The date when 21Shares and Ark Invest decided to refile their spot Bitcoin ETF application was April 25, 2023.
Cathie Wood’s asset management company, Ark Invest, is selling all GBTC shares and switching to ProShares’ Bitcoin ETF.
Ark Invest, Transitioning from GBTC to BITO
Following reports of Cathie Wood’s asset management company, Ark Invest, selling all holdings in Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas stated that a substantial portion of the sales proceeds was directed towards purchasing shares of ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO).
Previously, COINOTAG had reported that Cathie Wood sold all assets in Grayscale GBTC, likely before the expected approval of the spot Bitcoin ETF by January 10, 2024. Interestingly, GBTC was Ark Invest’s largest asset. According to Bloomberg analyst data, Ark Invest sold all remaining positions in GBTC but temporarily placed a significant portion of this fund into another Bitcoin ETF share, ProShares BITO.
Balchunas revealed that Cathie Wood’s company used half of the proceeds from the GBTC sale, approximately $100 million, to buy BITO. This is likely part of Ark Invest’s strategy to use BITO as a liquid transition tool before the realization of ARK 21Shares Spot Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) and ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW). With the BITO investment, Ark Invest became the second-largest owner of ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF shares.
“ARK is now the largest second holder of BITO, but still, this is a temporary parking spot.”
21Shares Bitcoin ETF
April 25, 2023, was the date when 21Shares and Ark Invest decided to refile their spot Bitcoin ETF application. Before this, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had rejected a series of spot ETF applications, including those filed by 21Shares. However, there appears to be a turnaround in the U.S. regulator’s approach to ETFs, possibly due to the situation arising from Grayscale’s lawsuit loss, as the U.S. Court ordered the SEC to reconsider Grayscale’s ETF application.
