Epic Dump: ARK Tosses Nearly $100M in Circle Shares Faster Than Turgenev’s Regrets!

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It was one of those twilight hours when the soul yearns for purpose, and boardrooms yearn for liquidity. ARK Invest, the firm conceived in one lofty vision by that inveterate optimist and crypto apostle, Cathie Wood, busied itself with a task most prosaic—unloading, nay, unburdening itself of nearly $100 million in Circle stock in the span of two days. One would think the air thick with melancholy, if it were not also laced with the scent of burning rubber from this financial getaway. 🚗💨

On Tuesday—a day otherwise unremarkable but for a reminder of human folly—a notification whispered its secrets to CryptoMoon: ARK had divested yet another 300,108 shares of Circle, fetching $44.7 million. The shares, like dreams, had tumbled a modest 1.3%, closing at $149 after a fleeting (and now mourned) dalliance with $165. One could hear the distant sighs of traders, if only TradingView had a “woe” graph.

Meanwhile, the US Senate, in its infinite wisdom and even greater ability to multitask, passed the GENIUS stablecoin bill with 68 votes for progress, 30 for gentle pessimism—and absolutely zero for emotional stability. Markets, unimpressed, asked, “Is that all you got?”

ARK Casts Forth 642,766 Circle Shares to the Wind

The tale of this stock disposal unfolded through the self-proclaimed titans of ARK: The ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK), soldiered ahead, purging itself of 208,654 shares. Its braver yet smaller brethren, the Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) and Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF), jingled their own pockets – 65,320 and 26,134 shares, respectively. Economists wept; mathematicians yawned.

Taken together, a not-insignificant 642,766 Circle shares—worth roughly $96.5 million—now wander the wilds of the open market, not unlike those hapless characters who, in Turgenev’s novels, leave the family estate in pursuit of meaning at the Moscow train station.

And for those who relish percentages (for are we not all grasping at numbers, in lieu of permanence?): this offload comprised about 14% of ARK’s rather flamboyant purchase of 4.49 million Circle shares on June 5th—a day where $373.4 million was thrown at the stock like confetti at a czar’s parade.

Who Else Is Hoping for Escape?

One wonders, who else is making for the door? As of this chapter, none of the other major Circle investors felt moved to copy ARK’s ballet. BlackRock, the brooding uncle of the investment world—allegedly set to take a 10% stake—was, as usual, unmoved, gazing across the financial steppe and reporting nothing, selling nothing. Stoic, or simply on vacation? 🤔

Circle’s own Generalissimo, Jeremy Allaire, looked ready to lighten his burden—8% of his own shares, a modest 1.58 million according to the sacred prospectus. His old accomplice Sean Neville and the numerically-inclined Jeremy Fox-Geen prepared to part with 684,083 and 178,991 shares, respectively. If shares were feelings, Circle’s management would be emotionally bankrupt.

As for Cathie Wood herself, our spiritual guide through this fever-dream of capitalism—she remains, steadfast and undaunted, a prophet in the temple of Bitcoin. Her February 2025 pronouncement—$1.5 million for a single Bitcoin by 2030—was met with equal parts awe and cynicism. ARK’s dumping spree? Some call it prescient, others, aversion therapy.

Thus concludes today’s episode in the long-running chronicle of financial hope and cold-blooded spreadsheets. Will the future bring redemption, or merely another round of regret? Stay tuned; Turgenev is sharpening his pen.

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2025-06-18 14:07