BitMine In, Robinhood Out: What’s Driving Cathie Wood’s Latest Bets at ARK Invest?

TradingKey - According to newly released filings from Ark Invest, the firm managed by tech bull Cathie Wood, it bought millions of dollars’ worth of shares in BitMine Immersion — an Ethereum treasury company — on Monday, while simultaneously selling shares of Robinhood, which was recently announced as a new addition to the S&P 500 index.

Daily trading data from Ark Invest shows:

• ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) purchased 67,700 shares of BitMine
• ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) bought 21,890 shares
• ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF) acquired 12,360 shares

Total purchases amounted to $4.46 million in BitMine stock on September 8.

According to The Block, BitMine Immersion now holds 1.73 million ETH, making it the largest corporate holder of Ethereum, ahead of SharpLink, which holds approximately 840,000 ETH.

The race to become the top “Ethereum treasury” continues, and another Wall Street veteran-led corporate accumulation story is fueling a market rally at the intersection of equities and crypto.

On the same day, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives was appointed chairman of Eightco, a company that raised $270 million to purchase Worldcoin, triggering an overnight 30-fold surge in Eightco’s stock price and a ~50% jump in Worldcoin’s price.

In a recent interview, Cathie Wood said her investment in BitMine is based on several key factors:

• Expectation that Ethereum will become the preferred protocol for institutions building digital asset strategies
• Lower tax risks compared to direct crypto holdings
• Greater utility of Ethereum reserves over Bitcoin reserves

Since hitting an all-time high in early July, BitMine’s stock has fallen by about 70%. Wood’s latest buying could provide momentum for a rebound.

In contrast, Robinhood has seen its stock steadily climb this year, reaching a record closing high on Monday. S&P Dow Jones Indices recently announced that Robinhood will replace Caesars Entertainment as a constituent of the S&P 500, effective September 22.

Inclusion in the S&P 500 typically brings increased passive fund buying, helping more large institutions add the stock to their portfolios and potentially pushing the price higher. Yet, Wood chose to sell — with ARKW selling 43,728 shares worth $5.13 million on Monday.

Wood remains one of Robinhood’s largest investors, and such a move is within the scope of normal portfolio management, such as profit-taking. However, regulatory risks facing Robinhood cannot be ignored.

Last month, the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) sent a letter to the SEC, ESMA, and other regulators, stating that tokenized stocks lack adequate investor protection and trading safeguards, and urging regulators to establish a clear legal framework.

Analysts note that Robinhood, which has already offered tokenized stocks to EU customers since June, and Coinbase, which is seeking SEC approval for similar offerings, could face significant regulatory headwinds.