Ark Invest’s Crypto Head Calls It Quits

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Yassine Elmandjra, who holds the position of Digital Assets Director at Ark Investment Management, has decided to part ways with the company following nearly seven years of service.

Elmandjra conveyed that he found it difficult to put into words his deep feelings of appreciation towards Cathie Wood, the Ark CEO, and the whole team, for the memorable experiences they provided him during his time with the company.

Chris Burniske, a partner at Placeholder, served as Ark Investment’s pioneering expert on cryptocurrencies. After the firm’s establishment in 2014, he spearheaded the strategic planning, product creation, and research related to digital currencies.

Previously serving as the Chief Investment Officer at international asset management company AllianceBernstein, Wood established Ark Invest following her concept of introducing Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) centered around groundbreaking innovations, as these ideas were deemed excessively risky elsewhere.

Recently established by Wood, the company is shifting its attention towards groundbreaking technologies like blockchain, artificial intelligence, genetic editing using CRISPR, and electric vehicles.

Following Burniske’s contribution in establishing Ark as a significant player in the cryptocurrency world, Elmandjra subsequently paved the way and assembled an exceptional team recognized as one of the top cryptocurrency groups within the industry, as stated by Wood.

She expressed on social media that she’ll dearly miss Yassine and his exceptional intellect on a daily basis, yet eagerly anticipate assisting him in his upcoming major endeavor!

Last year, Ark Invest launched Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs in the U.S. 

Coinbase (COIN) is also one of the top holdings in the ARK Innovation ETF with an 8.29% weighting. 

Last year, Wood predicted that the price of Bitcoin could hit $1.5 million by 2030. 

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2025-01-08 09:22