Massive Ark Invest Coinbase Selloff Triggers Bold $175M ETH Move

Key Points

• Ark Invest Coinbase Selloff Hits $90M as $175M Shifts to ETH
• ARK Invest sold 218,986 Coinbase shares worth $90.6 million
• This marks the third consecutive week of COIN sell-offs
• ARK remains one of Coinbase’s top 10 shareholders

ARK Investment Management, led by Cathie Wood, is rebalancing its crypto exposure again. On July 21, the firm disclosed it sold 218,986 shares of Coinbase (COIN), a move worth approximately $90.6 million. The divestment was spread across its major ETFs—ARKK, ARKW, and ARKF.

This isn’t a one-off sale. ARK has offloaded COIN shares every week in July:

• July 1: 9,116 shares (ARKW)

• July 2: 3,067 shares (ARKW)

• July 10-11: 22,223 shares across ETFs

• July 15-19: 43,762 shares

• July 21: 218,986 shares

Despite this steady reduction, ARK remains one of Coinbase’s top 10 institutional holders, showing they haven’t lost faith in the company altogether—just trimming the position, likely after the recent price surge.

The latest sell-off came just days after COIN hit an all-time high of $413.63 on July 18. Since then, COIN has experienced a mild pullback, falling 1.47% to close at $413.63 but slightly rebounding 0.3% in pre-market.

Coinbase Share Performance. Source: Google Finance – Techtoken

Wall Street sentiment around Coinbase remains strong. Cantor Fitzgerald raised its COIN price target to $500, citing higher earnings expectations from transaction fees, stablecoin use, and blockchain rewards. The firm increased its EPS estimate for 2026 from $8.36 to $10.76, applying a 46.5x PE multiple, up from 35x.

Cantor believes Coinbase is evolving from a cyclical exchange to a key player in crypto infrastructure, driven by stablecoin initiatives and its Base layer-2 network. For more on how Coinbase is powering large-scale projects, check out the California Breakthrough Project involving Ripple and Coinbase.

Alongside Coinbase, ARK also sold:

• 109,824 shares of Robinhood (HOOD) worth $11.46 million

• 90,061 shares of Block Inc. (XYZ) worth $7 million

These parallel sell-offs point to a bigger reshuffling of ARK’s fintech and crypto positions, favoring fresh bets in emerging sectors.

🔸 $COIN – CANTOR FITZGERALD RAISES COINBASE PRICE TARGET TO $500 FROM $292

The firm is raising 2026 EPS estimates to $10.76 (from $8.36) due to higher transaction, stablecoin, and blockchain rewards revenue. They now apply a 46.5x PE multiple (up from 35x) reflecting Coinbase’s…

— *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) July 21, 2025

$175M Shift to Bitmine Shows Growing Ethereum Confidence

While trimming Coinbase, ARK made an opposite move with Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR)—a firm deeply tied to Ethereum’s treasury ecosystem. The firm acquired 4.4 million shares worth $175 million, spread across:

• ARKK: 2,937,432 shares

• ARKW: 927,898 shares

• ARKF: 555,704 shares

Bitmine recently unveiled a strategy focused on optimizing Ethereum as a treasury asset. That innovation has caught attention—Tom Lee, founder of Fundstrat, recently became Chairman of the Board, adding more credibility.

The move also aligns with institutional interest in Ethereum. Notably, Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund purchased a 9.1% stake in Bitmine earlier this month. Thiel, known for early investments in PayPal, Facebook, and Bitcoin, seems to believe ETH is next.

Peter Thiel ~ the man who co-founded PayPal and bet early on Facebook, Palantir & Bitcoin just made another move.

He has taken a 9.1% stake in Bitmine, a treasury vehicle tied to ETH & Tom Lee.

He saw Facebook before Zuck was cool.

He saw Bitcoin before Wall Street blinked.… pic.twitter.com/DT1hGe3GL6

— Henry (@LordOfAlts) July 16, 2025

A crypto analyst summed it up well:

“Peter Thiel saw Bitcoin before Wall Street blinked. Now he’s loading ETH while everyone’s distracted.”

ARK’s bullish move into Bitmine aligns with broader trends, such as an increasing number of public companies embracing Ethereum. These companies are leveraging ETH not only for smart contracts but also for treasury and finance functions, a specialization that Bitmine is now focusing on.

By shifting funds into Bitmine, ARK is betting on the future of ETH as more than a smart contract platform—seeing it as financial infrastructure.

🎯NEW: Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest buys $11.5M in @coinbase shares as $COIN experiences a 17% dip 👀 pic.twitter.com/GkeSaCTrUZ

— CryptosRus (@CryptosR_Us) March 11, 2025

Strategic Rebalancing Signals Broader Crypto Outlook

ARK’s decision to sell Coinbase and invest heavily in Bitmine isn’t just about stock performance—it’s a signal. The firm is reallocating toward Ethereum-based infrastructure, a space seeing massive growth through NFTs, DeFi, and treasury use cases.

For example, Ethereum recently made headlines through a viral NFT torch initiative, which helped strengthen its cultural and technological presence.

This move also suggests ARK is eyeing long-term value over short-term trading hype. Coinbase may have matured as a trading platform, but Bitmine represents the next generation of crypto finance—one tied directly to Ethereum’s potential as a global asset layer.

📉🔁 Ark Invest Sells $90M Worth of Coinbase Shares and Decreases Holdings in Robinhood and Blockhttps://t.co/nTDyDXyN85

Ark Invest, led by Cathie Wood, sells $90M in Coinbase shares across three ETFs, despite Coinbase’s recent success. The firm also reduced its stake in… pic.twitter.com/rb80DCW7Zy

— Crypto Update IO 🚀 (@cryptoupdate_io) July 22, 2025

This strategy also mirrors moves by other forward-thinking investors. Just like El Salvador sparked debate in 2025 with its Bitcoin accounting reveal (read here), ARK is leaning into a macro narrative shift—from Bitcoin dominance to Ethereum-based growth and innovation.

And while ARK sharpens its focus, meme coins continue to draw speculative interest—highlighting the diversity in investor appetite. Projects like the Froggie meme coin capture the retail crowd, while Bitmine and ETH are catching institutional money.

ARK’s diversification into companies like AMD, DoorDash, and Deere & Co. also shows it’s hedging bets while staying exposed to transformative tech sectors, reinforcing the idea that blockchain is one part of a broader innovation strategy.

The Ark Invest Coinbase selloff, paired with the $175M Bitmine bet, highlights a shift in crypto investment strategies—from chasing momentum to building positions in infrastructure and long-term use cases.