Cathie Wood-led Ark Invest purchased additional shares of Circle Internet Group across its exchange-traded funds on Tuesday, as the USDC issuer’s stock plummeted during the session.
According to the company’s trade filing, Ark bought a total of 161,513 shares in Circle via ARKK, ARKW, and ARKF on Tuesday. Based on Circle’s closing price of $101.17, the purchase was worth $16.34 million.
Ark’s move appears to be a strategic play to buy the dip following Circle’s 20% slide on Tuesday, which came amid a wave of new developments affecting the stablecoin issuer.
Headwinds
Earlier this week, draft language for the U.S. Clarity Act circulated among industry insiders, signaling a more restrictive shift that could ban yield payments for simply holding stablecoins — a point of contention in Washington for months. Analysts at Mizuho attributed Circle’s intraday drop to the negative impact this may have on Circle’s USDC business.
Separately on Tuesday, onchain investigator ZachXBT published a post claiming that Circle had frozen the USDC balances of 16 hot wallets tied to various businesses. ZachXBT said the affected businesses were linked to an ongoing U.S. civil case.
Industry commentators said this highlights the ongoing risks of centralization in USDC, where a single issuer can freeze significant business funds at the direction of U.S. authorities.
Additionally, Circle’s biggest rival, Tether, announced Tuesday that it is moving forward with its first full financial audit and revealed that it has hired a Big Four accounting firm. This could also erode Circle’s position as the transparent and compliant alternative to Tether.
Following the 20% drop, Circle shares rebounded 1.5% in after-hours trading. The stock is up 65% in the past month but down 23% over the past six months.
Selling Bullish
Meanwhile, Ark sold 41,064 shares of Bullish, worth $1.53 million based on Tuesday’s closing price of $37.37. The crypto exchange’s stock dropped 5.51% on the day.
Ark has been actively rebalancing its exposure to Circle, Bullish, and other crypto-related stocks throughout early 2026, including Coinbase and Robinhood. Ark’s investment strategy limits any individual holding to about 10% of a fund’s portfolio, ensuring diversification and prompting rebalancing as weightings shift with market movements.
According to the firm’s disclosures, Circle (CLCR) is the third-largest holding in its ARKK ETF, with a 5.48% weighting valued at $334.5 million.
© 2026 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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