Ethereum News Today: Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest Bets $175 Million on Ethereum with Bitmine Immersion Purchase

Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest has made a significant move into Ethereum by acquiring 4,421,034 shares of Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) on July 21. This purchase, valued at approximately $175 million, marks a bold institutional bet on Ethereum-focused holdings. Bitmine Immersion, backed by venture capitalist Peter Thiel, is known for maintaining a large Ethereum treasury and plans to stake up to 5% of the asset’s total supply. This acquisition comes at a time when Ethereum has shown strong recent gains.

The BMNR shares were allocated across several Ark ETFs, with the firm’s flagship Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) receiving the largest allocation of roughly 2.9 million shares. Additional shares were distributed to the Ark Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) and the Ark Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF). Bitmine Immersion is led by Fundstrat founder and CIO Tom Lee and has built an Ethereum treasury of over $1 billion. The firm recently added $500 million in Ethereum, deepening its exposure. Bitmine plans to acquire and stake a substantial portion of the Ethereum supply, solidifying its role in the digital asset market. This acquisition shows Ark’s pivot toward Ethereum-based exposure following recent market developments.

Alongside the BMNR purchase, Ark Invest reduced its holdings in multiple crypto-related equities. The firm offloaded 218,986 shares of Coinbase, valued at over $90 million. The sale was distributed across three ETFs and occurred after Coinbase stock surged due to recent legislative actions in the U.S. House of Representatives supporting the crypto industry. Ark also trimmed 109,824 shares of Robinhood, a stake worth approximately $11.46 million. Furthermore, it sold 90,061 shares of Block Inc., which totaled around $7 million. These moves suggest a broader portfolio rebalancing while maintaining crypto sector exposure through new channels. This repositioning coincided with peak market activity, driven by legislative momentum and investor optimism around digital assets.

At the time of Ark’s BMNR acquisition, Ethereum was trading at $3,680.27, a 2.15% drop within 24 hours. However, Ethereum had gained 23.93% over the past week and posted a 61.09% rise in the past month. The timing of Ark’s investment aligned with Ethereum’s recent performance surge, adding context to the firm’s interest in Bitmine’s Ethereum-focused operations. With Bitmine actively increasing its Ethereum reserves, Ark’s stake provides exposure to one of the largest Ethereum treasuries in the public market.

Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest has consolidated its focus by increasing Ethereum-tied exposure through BMNR while divesting from Coinbase, Robinhood, and Block. This move distributes risk while supporting future gains to Ethereum’s growing market role. The firm’s realignment shows its continued participation in the digital asset market through alternative equity vehicles linked to blockchain infrastructure.