ARK Invest unloaded another round of shares of Circle (CRCL) across its ETFs just two weeks after the stablecoin issuer’s high-profile IPO.
The biggest cut came from the flagship ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK), which sold 490,549 shares, or about 1.8% of the portfolio. ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) and ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF) also reduced exposure, selling 75,018 and 43,608 shares, respectively. Making the total sales worth about $146.3 million, based on the June 20 closing price of $240.28 per share.
This marks the third and biggest wave of CRCL share selling since the IPO. Previously, it sold $50 million and $44.7 million worth of shares.
The move follows a massive rally in Circle’s stock, which debuted at $31 on June 5 and surged to $240 by the closing bell on Friday, a gain of more than 670% in just over two weeks.
The IPO was the most explosive for any U.S. company raising $500 million or more since 1980, according to Fortune. Investors rushed in, fueled by regulatory tailwinds like the Senate’s passage of the GENIUS Act, aimed at setting clearer rules for stablecoins.
While paring down its Circle stake, ARK rotated outside the crypto space. Across multiple ETFs, the firm added shares of chipmaker AMD, e-commerce giant Shopify, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.
Circle’s USDC stablecoin is currently the second-largest by market capitalization with $61.26 billion in circulation. Tether’s USDT still holds the lion’s share of the stablecoin market, with $155.88 billion in circulation.
Support for USDC has nevertheless been growing rapidly. Coinbase Derivatives revealed earlier this week that it’s collaborating with Nodal Clear to integrate the stablecoin as collateral in regulated U.S. futures markets, while Shopify is enabling USDC payments via Base.
