TLDR
- ARK Invest sold 342,658 Circle shares worth $52 million across three ETFs on June 16
- This marks the first sale of Circle stock since its NYSE debut on June 5
- Circle shares have surged 118% since launch, closing at $151 on June 16
- ARK still holds Circle as a top position across three funds with up to 6.7% weighting
- Wood also bought Nvidia, DoorDash, and BWX Technologies shares on the same day
ARK Invest made its first major move in Circle Internet stock on Monday, selling over 342,000 shares worth approximately $52 million just 11 days after the stablecoin company went public. The sales came as Circle stock continued its strong performance since debuting on the New York Stock Exchange.
🚨 NEW: Cathie Wood's Ark Invest sells $51.7M worth of Circle shares as the stablecoin issuer's stock hits record high of $151.06. pic.twitter.com/O3JCLVr3Lb
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) June 17, 2025
The asset management firm founded by Cathie Wood offloaded shares across three of its exchange-traded funds. The ARK Innovation ETF sold 196,367 shares, while the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF divested 92,310 shares and the ARK Fintech Innovation ETF sold 53,981 shares.
Despite the sales, Circle (CRCL) remains one of ARK’s largest holdings across all three funds. The company still holds approximately 4.1 million Circle shares after the Monday transactions.
Circle stock has performed well since its public debut on June 5 at $69 per share. The stock surged to over $164 on June 16 before closing at $151, representing a 118% gain since launch.
ARK was among the early institutional investors that committed to purchasing up to $150 million in Circle shares before the company’s public listing. The firm acquired about 4.49 million shares on the first day of trading for $373.4 million at the closing price.
Circle’s Position in ARK Funds
The ARKK fund, ARK’s largest with $5.6 billion in assets under management, holds the biggest Circle position at $387.7 million. This represents roughly 6.6% of the fund’s total assets, making Circle the fifth-largest holding.
The ARKW fund holds $124 million in Circle shares, accounting for 6.7% of its total assets. The ARKF fund, the smallest of the three, maintains $72 million in Circle shares, also representing 6.7% of its assets.
Circle’s weighting across the three funds ranges from 6.6% to 6.7%, placing it among the top holdings in each portfolio. The company trails only Coinbase in the ARKW fund, where Coinbase holds a 6.8% weighting.
On the same day as the Circle sales, Wood made purchases in other stocks. ARK bought 128,163 Nvidia (NVDA) shares worth $18.54 million through the ARKK fund.
The firm also increased its positions in DoorDash (DASH) across three ETFs, purchasing a total of 139,236 shares.
Wood’s largest purchase on Monday was 215,830 shares of BWX Technologies (BWXT) through the ARKK ETF, valued at approximately $30 million. The nuclear power company has attracted interest from tech firms investing in nuclear projects to power artificial intelligence operations.
ARK’s research team has praised stablecoins for advancing property rights in the cryptocurrency space. In June, the firm’s analysts said Circle’s successful IPO showed a shift in public perception of the crypto industry.
Circle went public through a combination with Concord Acquisition Corp and has become one of the largest stablecoin issuers with its USD Coin product. The company’s stock closed at $151 on June 16, up 13.1% for the day.
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