Cathie Wood of ARK Invest Continues to Scoop up Bargain-Priced Crypto Stocks. Here Are 2 Stocks You Should Be Buying Now.

Cathie Wood, the founder of Ark Invest, is fiercely bullish on cryptocurrencies. She expects Bitcoin to surge to as high as $1.25 million over the next five years, and Ether to soar to $160,000-$180,000 within the next six years.

We should take those sky-high estimates with a grain of salt. However, Wood is backing those bullish forecasts with some big purchases of crypto stocks across Ark's flagship ETFs. Let's take a closer look at two crypto stocks Wood keeps buying -- Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) and Circle (NYSE: CRCL) -- and see why they're worth nibbling on in this choppy market.

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Coinbase

Coinbase is one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges. It generates most of its revenue from crypto trading fees, so its growth is tightly tethered to the crypto market.

Over the past 12 months, Coinbase's stock declined nearly 40% as fears of rising interest rates, delays in crypto legislation, and other macro headwinds chilled the crypto market. For 2026, analysts expect Coinbase's revenue and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) to decline 25% and 61%, respectively.

But from 2026 to 2028, analysts expect its revenue and adjusted EBITDA to grow at CAGRs of 19% and 63%, respectively. That growth could be driven by the stabilization of the crypto market and the expansion of its Ethereum Layer-2 network, Base, to accommodate more decentralized finance (DeFi) apps, real-world assets (RWAs), and prediction-market trading. Those new services could diversify its business beyond conventional cryptocurrencies.

Moreover, Coinbase will benefit from the passage of the CLARITY Act, which will set clearer rules for stablecoins and other digital assets in the U.S. market. That regulatory clarity should drive more retail and institutional investors to accumulate more cryptocurrencies.

Yet with an enterprise value of $43.5 billion, Coinbase still trades at just 17 times next year's adjusted EBITDA. That's probably why Cathie Wood now holds roughly 2.6 million shares of Coinbase across her Ark Innovation (NYSEMKT: ARKK), ARK Next Generation Internet (NYSEMKT: ARKW), and ARK Fintech Innovation (NYSEMKT: ARKF) ETFs. Today, Ark's Coinbase shares are worth about $486 million, or 4% of its combined holdings.

Circle

Circle mints USD Coin (CRYPTO: USDC), the leading stablecoin in the U.S. and the second largest stablecoin in the world after Tether USD. Most of Circle's revenue comes from reserve income earned on the cash and Treasuries it holds on a 1:1 ratio to back its own stablecoins. Those reserves will grow as Circle mints more stablecoins.

Over the past 12 months, Circle's stock declined more than 20% -- even as it strengthened its partnerships with financial giants like Visa and Mastercard. The bulls believe more financial institutions will adopt stablecoins -- which are pegged to fiat currencies but can be held and transferred without bank accounts -- as a faster and cheaper alternative to traditional money transfers. They can also be increasingly used by autonomous AI agents.

Circle doesn't face the same crypto headwinds as Coinbase. Instead, rising interest rates are boosting its reserve income yields. The potential passage of the CLARITY Act could make USD Coin a more compelling alternative to U.S. dollars for some investors and financial institutions.

From 2025 to 2028, analysts expect Coinbase's revenue and adjusted EBITDA to grow at CAGRs of 19% and 25%, respectively. With an enterprise value of $19.5 billion, it still looks reasonably valued at 24 times next year's adjusted EBITDA.

Ark holds 4.5 million shares of Circle across the same three flagship ETFs that hold Coinbase. That stake is worth about $446 milion and accounts for nearly 4% of its total holdings.

Should you buy Coinbase and Circle today?

Coinbase and Circle could remain volatile this year, especially if interest rates rise and drive investors toward more conservative investments. But they also look historically cheap and could attract a stampede of bulls once the next crypto summer starts. So if you can stomach the near-term volatility, you should consider buying Coinbase and Circle today.

Leo Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, Mastercard, and Visa. The Motley Fool recommends Coinbase Global. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.