Ark Invest accelerates on crypto with new purchases: $21.2M of Bullish (BLSH) shares and $16.2M o...

With two close moves, Ark Invest by Cathie Wood secures 356,346 shares of Bullish (BLSH) for about $21.2 million and 150,908 shares of Robinhood (HOOD) for about $16.2 million, strengthening the crypto theme within the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK). An interesting aspect is the choice to concentrate the orders in a very narrow time window, with an execution that appears consistent with the group’s thematic strategy.

According to the data collected by our research desk during the day of August 20, 2025, the trade notifications of ARK clearly show the concentration of orders in a limited time window

Industry analysts note that similar executions, if repeated, tend to increase the visibility of the stock in the market and temporarily impact spreads and volumes. These observations derive from the direct analysis of daily disclosures and the comparison with historical data of ARK allocations.

Ark Invest: the key numbers of the operation on Bullish (BLSH) and Robinhood (HOOD)

BLSH purchased: 356,346 shares (operation carried out in a single day). Indicative valuation of $21.2M at the closing price, with the stock around $59.51 at the time of the transaction.

BLSH quotes by TradingView { “lineWidth”: 2, “lineType”: 0, “chartType”: “candlesticks”, “showVolume”: true, “fontColor”: “rgb(106, 109, 120)”, “gridLineColor”: “rgba(242, 242, 242, 0.06)”, “volumeUpColor”: “rgba(34, 171, 148, 0.5)”, “volumeDownColor”: “rgba(247, 82, 95, 0.5)”, “backgroundColor”: “#0F0F0F”, “widgetFontColor”: “#DBDBDB”, “upColor”: “#22ab94”, “downColor”: “#f7525f”, “borderUpColor”: “#22ab94”, “borderDownColor”: “#f7525f”, “wickUpColor”: “#22ab94”, “wickDownColor”: “#f7525f”, “colorTheme”: “dark”, “isTransparent”: false, “locale”: “en”, “chartOnly”: false, “scalePosition”: “right”, “scaleMode”: “Normal”, “fontFamily”: “-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Trebuchet MS, Roboto, Ubuntu, sans-serif”, “valuesTracking”: “1”, “changeMode”: “price-and-percent”, “symbols”: [ [ “NYSE:BLSH|1D” ] ], “dateRanges”: [ “1d|1”, “1m|30”, “3m|60”, “12m|1D”, “60m|1W”, “all|1M” ], “fontSize”: “10”, “headerFontSize”: “medium”, “autosize”: false, “width”: 800, “height”: 400, “noTimeScale”: false, “hideDateRanges”: false, “hideMarketStatus”: false, “hideSymbolLogo”: false }

Total ARKK position in BLSH: 1,165,397 shares, for an indicative valuation of approximately $73.85M at the close of the reference day.

HOOD purchased: 150,908 shares (operation carried out over 48 hours). Estimated value approximately $16.2M according to the disclosures. It should be noted that the data reflects official communications and does not cover any intraday execution.

HOOD quotes by TradingView { “lineWidth”: 2, “lineType”: 0, “chartType”: “candlesticks”, “showVolume”: true, “fontColor”: “rgb(106, 109, 120)”, “gridLineColor”: “rgba(242, 242, 242, 0.06)”, “volumeUpColor”: “rgba(34, 171, 148, 0.5)”, “volumeDownColor”: “rgba(247, 82, 95, 0.5)”, “backgroundColor”: “#0F0F0F”, “widgetFontColor”: “#DBDBDB”, “upColor”: “#22ab94”, “downColor”: “#f7525f”, “borderUpColor”: “#22ab94”, “borderDownColor”: “#f7525f”, “wickUpColor”: “#22ab94”, “wickDownColor”: “#f7525f”, “colorTheme”: “dark”, “isTransparent”: false, “locale”: “en”, “chartOnly”: false, “scalePosition”: “right”, “scaleMode”: “Normal”, “fontFamily”: “-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Trebuchet MS, Roboto, Ubuntu, sans-serif”, “valuesTracking”: “1”, “changeMode”: “price-and-percent”, “symbols”: [ [ “NASDAQ:HOOD|1D” ] ], “dateRanges”: [ “1d|1”, “1m|30”, “3m|60”, “12m|1D”, “60m|1W”, “all|1M” ], “fontSize”: “10”, “headerFontSize”: “medium”, “autosize”: false, “width”: 800, “height”: 400, “noTimeScale”: false, “hideDateRanges”: false, “hideMarketStatus”: false, “hideSymbolLogo”: false }

Frequency and transparency: purchases reported in ARK’s daily disclosures and in press summaries.

Why it matters for ARK ETFs

The purchases increase the weight of the stocks linked to cryptocurrency exchanges and the fintech sector at the heart of the ARK ecosystem, increasing indirect exposure to the adoption cycles of digital assets. In this context, sensitivity to volatility and regulation of the sector tends to rise, with potentially immediate effects on the daily performance of thematic funds.

Impact on the ARKK portfolio and on other ETFs

Thematic weighting: greater impact of crypto-adjacent stocks on daily performance.

Risk/return: potential expansion of the bull phase of the crypto market and the downside in drawdowns.

Rebalancing: possible tactical adjustments based on volatility, liquidity, and internal rules of ARK ETFs.

Correlations: expected tighter correlations with major digital assets while remaining an indirect exposure.

The strategic reading of Ark’s moves

The decision to increase positions in BLSH and HOOD suggests a thesis: capturing the growth of the market infrastructure (exchange and fintech broker) that monetizes volumes, custody, and services related to crypto without holding tokens on the balance sheet. Essentially, the aim is to intercept the sector’s flows by favoring listed and regulated players. It is a positioning consistent with ARK’s growth investing approach and the preference for regulated and liquid vehicles like ETFs.

How to estimate the “weight” in ARKK: quick guide

Step 1: retrieve the value of the position (e.g., BLSH ≈ $73.85M at the close of the reference day).

Step 2: take the net asset value (NAV) of ARKK of the same day from the official page of the fund or from the holdings section: ark-funds.com/funds/arkk.

Step 3: calculate weight % = Position value / NAV.

This estimate allows for the evaluation of the effect of new purchases on the tracking error and on the risk of the portfolio.

What to monitor in the upcoming sessions

Volumes and spreads: pay attention to the trends of BLSH and HOOD after the entries of ARK.

Flows: monitoring of flows in crypto ETFs and those of ARK, a thermometer of market sentiment.

Regulatory news: updates on exchanges, brokers, and digital custody, in a constantly evolving regulatory environment.

Correlation: any changes in the relationship with Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital assets during phases of high volatility.

Context: the precedent on Bullish

At its stock market debut, ARK had made an initial allocation distributed across multiple ETFs for over 2.5 million shares of Bullish, according to market surveys reported by the specialized press. The new increases confirm the accumulation trajectory on key players of the crypto ecosystem.

Conclusion

Ark Invest consolidates its exposure to the crypto world through ETFs, focusing on BLSH and HOOD as levers to benefit from the adoption of digital assets. In this context, the centrality of the crypto theme in ARKK increases, and consequently, more attention is required on weights, volatility, and possible rebalancing.