ARK Invest Sells $146.2 Million in Circle Shares After 20.4% Stock Surge

ARK Invest, led by Cathie Wood, has recently reduced its stake in Circle, a stablecoin issuer, following a significant surge in the company's stock price. The investment firm sold 609,175 shares of Circle across three of its funds—ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK), ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW), and ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF)—on June 20. This move comes after a 20.4% spike in Circle’s stock price on the same day, making the divestment worth approximately $146.2 million, the largest single-day exit from the stablecoin issuer since its shares went public.

The breakdown of the shares sold includes 490,549 from ARKK, 75,018 from ARKW, and 43,608 from ARKF. This latest sale is part of a broader strategy of profit-taking during Circle’s volatile ascent in the public markets. Earlier in the week, ARK had sold $52 million worth of shares on June 16 and another $45 million on June 17, both following price upticks. Since its listing at $31 per share, Circle’s stock has skyrocketed more than 400%, now trading near $240.

Despite the significant sales, ARK Invest remains a major Circle shareholder. The firm initially acquired 4.5 million shares shortly after the company went public and still retains more than 3.2 million shares. At current prices, ARK’s remaining stake is worth about $779 million, placing it as the eighth-largest holder of Circle stock. Circle now features prominently in ARK’s portfolio alongside other core positions, including Tesla and Robinhood. This latest sale, while substantial, appears to be part of an ongoing portfolio rebalancing rather than a full exit.

Circle’s shareholder registry is still topped by the Beijing-based IDG-Accel China Capital Fund II, which holds 23.3 million shares, making it the company’s largest shareholder by a wide margin. Compared to ARK’s holdings, IDG-Accel has maintained a long-term strategy, with no recent publicized sell-offs. The massive gains in Circle’s stock have led to increasing scrutiny over investor behavior, especially as more institutional players take profits in the wake of rallies. Yet the stock remains volatile and continues to draw speculative interest, with ARK’s trades serving as a bellwether for sentiment shifts among large-cap fund managers.