Ark rebalances into Circle and Block, trims Robinhood in $14 million reshuffle

On Tuesday (July 14), Ark Invest, managed by Cathie Wood, invested around $13.9 million in Circle Internet Group and also acquired approximately $1.52 million in Jack Dorsey’s Block Inc., while decreasing its stake in Robinhood by about $3.15 million.

For investors in Ark’s exchange-traded funds (ETFs), this decision is not seen as a call on the market, but as an indication of the way the firm keeps its investments within certain limitations.

Ark operates its actively managed funds with its own restriction in effect; it prohibits any stock from exceeding 10 percent of holdings. As a stock increases in value or it becomes inexpensive enough to buy more of, the firm makes transactions in order to effectively keep a stock’s position held at a maximum of 10 percent.

The trades reported on Tuesday merely demonstrate the firm’s operations rather than showing any indication of drastic or significant changes with respect to any one stock.

The Circle purchase came to 220,012 shares spread across three ETFs, ARKK, ARKW, and ARKF, according to The Block. The stock closed at $63.22 on Tuesday, up a slim 0.35%, but it has been the weaker performer of the group: Circle is down 24.17% over the past month.

Block, a blockchain-focused fintech co-founded by Dorsey, rose 1.61% to $79.99, and Ark picked up 19,029 of its shares through ARKW and ARKF. On the sell side, Ark unloaded 27,742 Robinhood shares even as that stock climbed 3.27% to $113.45.

Bearish on Robinhood, or just bullish on Circle?

It appears that Ark seems to have changed its mind regarding Robinhood, making a significant investment in Circle instead. This assumption is complicated, however, by the transactions themselves. Ark has sold the stock that gained over 3 percent on the day in favor of a stock with almost a flat trading result, which is typical of a rebalancing strategy: sell the stock that has risen in value and buy more of the stock that has underperformed.

Cryptopolitan has already noted that what Ark does with its simultaneous buying and selling of stocks usually reveals a rebalancing strategy in action rather than a stock movement strategy.

However, it does not indicate that there is no conviction. Ark has purchased Circle over the past few months. Crypto Briefing recorded a purchase of close to $18 million on July 1 and about $5.5 million in May when Circle reported earnings, so this measures Ark’s total expenditure on the shares to over $37 million in two months. Investing in a falling stock is a typical practice for Ark, and that is the case with Circle.

Why Circle has been sliding

Circle is the issuer of USDC, a stable cryptocurrency that ranks high among the most popular cryptocurrencies. In June 2025, Circle launched its IPO at a price of $31 a share.

The price of the company’s stock skyrocketed nearly by 300 percent of its IPO price shortly after the IPO date, owing to the significant interest of investors in stablecoins and cryptocurrency infrastructure. Circle’s stock has fallen from its record highs since then and was trading at approximately $63.22 recently.

Recent downfall is linked to the emergence of a new stablecoin project called Open USD. The project has led to a significant drop in Circle shares at the start of July. As reported by The Block, immediate backing for this project came from over 140 companies, including such giants as Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, BlackRock, and Coinbase.

Wall Street is split about what this competition means. On the one hand, Mizuho just changed its rating on Circle from Neutral to Underperform, lowering its target from $85 to $50, citing Open USD as a threat. But on the other hand, Bernstein’s opinion is the complete opposite because the company has an Outperform rating and a target price of $190 according to The Block.

There are also structural risks among the discussion: a large portion of Circle’s revenues comes from interest on reserves backing USDC. Hence, profitability lessens when interest rates decline. Tether’s USDT is still the leader in the global stablecoin market share.

ARK has deployed roughly $53.5 million into Circle over the past two months through at least four disclosed purchases, underscoring a pattern of averaging into weakness rather than making a one-off tactical trade.

What to watch

The crucial figure to watch for is that of Ark’s purchasing speed. Pouring more than $37 million into one single stock in just two months could be considered too ambitious for Wood’s standards.

A halt to the trading could be interpreted as Ark having reached its targeted allocation or its interpretation of Circle having changed. As it stands, the latest trades can be seen as a pure maintenance measure where the fund is rebalancing its portfolio rather than a judgment on the stock of Robinhood.

Don’t just read crypto news. Understand it. Subscribe to our newsletter. It's free.