ARK Invest Bets Big as BitMine Hits 2M ETH Milestone

ARK Invest, the investment firm led by Cathie Wood, continued to bolster its stake in BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), an Ethereum (ETH) treasury firm, by purchasing $4.4 million worth of shares on Monday. The purchase was spread across three of its exchange-traded funds (ETFs): the Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK), the Ark Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW), and the ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF). These funds now collectively hold approximately 6.7 million shares of BMNR, valued at $284 million, according to fund prospectuses [1].

BitMine, chaired by former Bank of America strategist Tom Lee, has become the largest corporate holder of Ether, with over 2 million ETH in its treasury. The company recently announced that it now holds more than 2 million ETH, valued at around $8.9 billion, marking a significant milestone in its strategy to accumulate the second-largest cryptocurrency [1]. This represents 1.7% of the total Ether supply, and the firm is currently 34% toward its goal of acquiring 5% of the total supply [2].

The investment move coincides with a strong performance for BMNR shares, which rose 4.1% on Monday to close at $43.79, with further gains during after-hours trading [2]. The stock has surged 460% since the beginning of the year, reflecting growing institutional interest in Ethereum treasury strategies and the increasing adoption of crypto assets on corporate balance sheets [1]. The recent surge was also fueled by speculation around the Federal Reserve’s potential rate cut, which Tom Lee views as a dual positive for both equities and crypto markets [1].

In a broader move, ARK Invest also offloaded $5.13 million in Robinhood (HOOD) shares on the same day. This sale came as Robinhood’s stock gained over 15% following the announcement that it would be added to the S&P 500 index [2]. The transaction highlights ARK Invest’s strategy of rotating capital toward high-growth sectors and assets, including those with strong crypto exposure such as BitMine.

The growing interest in Ethereum treasuries by institutional players underscores a broader trend of corporations diversifying their reserves with digital assets. BitMine’s aggressive accumulation strategy has positioned it as a leader in this space, holding 42% of the total 4.9 million ETH that corporations have collected to date [1]. Analysts suggest that this trend is likely to continue as more firms recognize the potential of Ethereum as a store of value and inflation hedge.

Ethereum’s price, however, has remained rangebound in recent weeks, limiting the direct financial benefit of BitMine’s accumulation strategy. Nonetheless, the company remains optimistic about Ethereum’s long-term potential, with Tom Lee emphasizing that “Ethereum is one of the biggest macro trades over the next 10-15 years” [1].

Source:

[1] Ark Invest Buys $4.4M More Bitmine Stock After ETH ... (https://cointelegraph.com/news/ark-invest-buys-shares-bitmine-crosses-2m-eth-milestone)

[2] Ark Invest buys $4.5 million worth of BitMine shares ... (https://www.theblock.co/post/369952/ark-invest-buys-bitmine-sells-robinhood)