Thomas Daniels
Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest reaffirmed its confidence in the digital finance arena by acquiring significant stakes in both Bullish and Robinhood Markets. On August 19, 2025, the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) purchased 356,346 shares of Bullish, valued at approximately $21.2 million, and 150,908 shares of Robinhood, worth about $16.2 million.
These actions extend ARK’s recent buying streak: the firm had already invested $172 million in Bullish, securing 2.5 million shares across three ETFs following the exchange’s debut on the New York Stock Exchange. Concurrently, ARK added Robinhood shares for a third consecutive day, following approximately $14 million in buys on Monday and $9 million on Friday.
As of this purchase, ARKK now holds 1,165,397 Bullish shares, valued at around $73.85 million. Robinhood currently represents approximately 4.09% of the ETF’s weighting.
The timing of these investments coincided with a sector-wide downturn. On that day, Bullish declined 6.09% to close at $59.51, slipping a further 3.24% post-session, while Robinhood dropped 6.54% to $107.50, losing an additional 1.23% after hours. Broader crypto-linked equities also retreated: Coinbase, Galaxy Digital, Circle, and others registered notable losses, while the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.46%. The sell-off reflected broader investor caution ahead of the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole symposium, where markets are closely watching for potential signals of dovish monetary policy from Chair Jerome Powell.
Separately, Bullish recently raised $1.1 billion through its IPO, exceeding expectations with an offering price of $37 per share. The Cayman Islands-based exchange surged 83.8% in its first trading session and reached an intraday high of $118 before settling back, signaling robust investor appetite for crypto-related equity.
