Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest Buys $9.2M Worth of Coinbase’s COIN Amid Price Drops

Cathie Wood, Founder and CEO of Ark Invest, continues to be bullish on Coinbase, whose share price is down by nearly 85% from its all-time high of $348.98 on November 12, 2021.  

Making the third investment in two months and fourth since November, Ark Invest acquired $9.2 million worth of COIN shares on Friday, media reports asserted.  

A Bloomberg report from three months ago said Ark Invest made $56 million worth of Coinbase shares in November 2022 alone.

Ark Invest’s COIN Purchases  

In the latest round, the investment firm bought 162,325 COIN shares. In the previous two, on January 5 and January 12, the company accumulated Coinbase shares worth $5.8 million and $3.3 million, respectively. In December, it purchased $11.9 million worth of COIN. 

On January 5, the day Ark Invest made its first major purchase of COIN shares this year, the stock closed the day 11% down at $33.53, while the next day, January 6, it hit an all-time low of $31.95, hinting Ark Invest’s timing could not have been better than this. The January 12 purchase of COIN shares was made at $43.79 per share, and it came at a time when all major crypto assets led by BTC were on a recovery path.  

Early this month, ARK Invest made a 2030 BTC price prediction, which pegged the legacy asset at $258,500, $682,800, and $1.48 million for the bear market, base rate, and bull market scenarios. 

Kraken Fears Pull Down COIN 

After rising to $81 on February 2, nearly 95% in a month, Coinbase shares are once again on a downward spiral, particularly following the SEC crackdown on Kraken for offering “unregistered securities” in the form of staking services. 

Coinbase is a major player in staking services, and over the past week, its CEO, Brain Armstrong, and other executives have been at pains stressing that the products are not securities. Marking a 14.13% fall, COIN closed Thursday, the day Kraken announced shutting down of its staking services for US investors, at $59.63 after starting at $68.51%. It closed the week roughly 22% down. 

Downturn Impacts on Coinbase 

Hit by the market downturn, Coinbase reduced its headcount by over 2,000 since June 2022. The first round of layoffs came in June when 18% or 1,100 employees were fired, while on January 10, 20% or 950 employees were dismissed. 

On January 26, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), the central bank of the Netherlands, reportedly fined Coinbase $3.6 million for failing to register its services in the country between November 2020 and August 2022. 

Priced at $250, Coinbase’s shares were listed on Nasdaq on April 14, 2021. Making a gain of over 31%, COIN closed the inaugural day at over $328. Right now, the stocks are trading nearly 85% below their all time high of $348.98.