Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest, managing the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF, on Wednesday sold its entire stake of 2.25 million shares in Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). The sale was executed simultaneously with the purchase of 4.32 million shares in the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, which offers exposure to Bitcoin futures.
This strategic adjustment aligns with growing anticipation around the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) potential approval of the first U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF, expected on January 10th. The SEC had previously rejected Grayscale’s application to transform its GBTC into a spot Bitcoin ETF. Following this rejection, Grayscale sued the SEC, leading to a recent federal court decision that instructed the SEC to revisit Grayscale’s application to avoid being arbitrary and inconsistent.
Cathie Wood explained the divestment from GBTC as a precautionary measure, considering the uncertainty surrounding the SEC’s decision on the trust’s conversion to a spot market Bitcoin ETF. Wood’s statement, as reported by Bloomberg, emphasizes the uncertainty in the approval process: “We don’t know exactly who’s going to be approved and whether they’ve met all the criteria that the SEC has put before us. We’re as optimistic about Bitcoin as we’ve ever been.”