Cathie Wood’s Ark Files to Create a Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund

It looks like Cathie Woods’ Ark Invest is really wanting to be on the cryptocurrency bandwagon.

The firm has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) this week to create a bitcoin exchange-traded fund.

It was only last week that the SEC had postponed a decision to approve the first bitcoin ETF.

Wood, who is a digital asset bull, has also been buying up proxies for the digital asset in names such as Coinbase and Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.

Wood’s ETF’s investment objective is to track the performance of bitcoin, according to the SEC filing. The fund would trade under the ticker symbol “ARKB” if it is approved by the SEC.

Ark Invest is working in partnership with 21Shares in order to launch the ETF.

Bitcoin, the number one digital asset, has nearly been cut in half since its all-time high of about $63,000 in April.

Many developments including China’s bitcoin crackdown, Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s decision to stop accepting bitcoin for its electric vehicles, and excessive risk taking by crypto traders have all contributed to the volatile swings that cryptocurrencies have been experiencing.

Ark Invest acknowledged the volatility associated with the digital asset in the “risk factors” section of the SEC filing.

“The market value of bitcoin is not related to any specific company, government or asset. The valuation of bitcoin depends on future expectations for the value of the Bitcoin network, the number of bitcoin transactions, and the overall usage of bitcoin as an asset. This means that a significant amount of the value of bitcoin is speculative, which could lead to increased volatility. Investors could experience significant gains, losses and/or volatility in the Trust’s holdings, depending on the valuation of bitcoin,” the S1 filing stated.

Wood has said she sees a future where bitcoin is part of a balanced investment portfolio.

Shares of Ark Innovation are up more than 16% in June.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.