Cathie Wood’s Fund Buys GBTC as Discount Reaches 40%

Ark Invest – the technology-focused investment firm founded by Cathie Wood – has aped into Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) after the world-leading digital asset fund marked another record-low discount last week. 

Ark Investment Management bought 315,000 GBTC shares worth roughly $2.8 million on Monday for its ARK Next Generation Internet exchange-traded fund (ARKW).

• Ark’s purchase marks its first investment in the trust since July 2021, when Bitcoin drifted around a local bottom of roughly $30,000 before rocketing to $69,000 later in the year. 
• Similarly, Bitcoin marked a yearly low of $15,682 last week after the collapse of the crypto exchange FTX. 
• Meanwhile, GBTC shares are trading for just $8.95 a piece, compared to Grayscale’s $14.87 worth of Bitcoin holdings per share – a roughly 40% discount. 
• Unlike a Bitcoin spot ETF, shares of Grayscale’s trust are not immediately redeemable for a fixed number of Bitcoin. This can cause share prices to deviate greatly from the value of their underlying Bitcoiin. 
• Grayscale is embroiled in a legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to convert its fund into a spot ETF, which would quickly eliminate the current discount. That means current share buyers would quickly experience a 40% value surge on their investment. 
• Ark Invest has performed relatively poorly across 2022, down 58% year to date. 
• Its CEO, Cathie Wood, has shown enthusiasm for Bitcoin as a global rules-based monetary system, predicting it could potentially reach a $1 million price per coin.