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ARK Invest Buys $4.4 Billion Stake in Circle as Stock Slides Below $90

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  Published in Stocks and Investing on Friday, November 14th 2025 at 5:43 GMT by CoinTelegraph

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Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest Buys 46 Million Shares of Circle as the Stock Slides Below $90

In a move that underscores the continued enthusiasm of Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest for the broader crypto‑economy, the firm announced the purchase of 46 million shares of Circle (ticker: CRV) after the company’s stock slipped under the $90 mark. The acquisition – worth roughly $4.4 billion at the time of the trade – represents the largest single investment by ARK in a cryptocurrency‑focused company to date and signals a bold bet on the future of stablecoins and crypto‑payment infrastructure.

The Trade

According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), ARK bought 46 million shares of Circle at an average price of about $95, giving the investor a 7.4 % stake in the firm. The trade was executed over a period of several days in late August, with the stock’s price moving from around $100 to below $90 before the transaction closed. The timing is notable because Circle’s share price had been volatile in the last few weeks, partly due to macro‑economic headwinds and regulatory uncertainty around stablecoins.

ARK’s investment size – roughly $4.4 billion – is the most sizable stake ARK has taken in a single crypto‑company. It eclipses the firm’s previous stake in Coinbase (approximately $1.2 billion) and demonstrates that Wood’s research team sees more upside in Circle’s product suite than in other crypto exchanges or mining firms.

Why Circle?

Circle is a fintech company founded in 2013 that launched the USDC stablecoin in partnership with Coinbase. USDC is one of the largest USD‑pegged stablecoins in circulation, with a market cap that has surged from $10 billion to over $30 billion in the last year. The stablecoin’s adoption is broad, ranging from online payments to institutional treasury management, and its daily transaction volume tops the $10 billion mark.

Beyond its stablecoin, Circle operates a suite of payment solutions, including Circle Pay (a cross‑border remittance product that lets users send money in dozens of currencies worldwide), Circle Invest (a platform that lets investors hold and trade crypto in a regulated environment), and Circle Vault (a secure custody solution for institutional crypto holdings). The company’s revenue is heavily weighted toward these products, which generate fees that scale linearly with the amount of active transactions.

The firm’s recent earnings call highlighted a 37 % YoY increase in revenue, driven by a jump in USDC usage and the launch of new features such as the “Circle Pay Plus” subscription service. In a broader sense, Circle is positioned at the intersection of traditional finance and digital assets – a sweet spot that ARK has long championed as part of its “innovation” thesis.

The Bigger Picture

The ARK investment aligns with a broader trend of institutional capital returning to the crypto sector after a period of heightened volatility. In the last six months, many institutional investors have been hesitant due to a confluence of factors: rising U.S. interest rates, tightening monetary policy, and a regulatory focus on stablecoins. Yet the steady growth of the USDC ecosystem – now backing trillions of dollars of crypto liquidity – signals that demand for stable, compliant digital assets remains robust.

Ark’s move is also part of Cathie Wood’s broader strategy of “long‑term tech bets.” ARK has already built a sizable portfolio in other blockchain and crypto companies, such as Coinbase, Square, and a handful of high‑growth NFT platforms. By adding Circle to its holdings, the firm not only diversifies its crypto exposure but also gains a stake in a company that is actively shaping the infrastructure of the digital‑currency economy.

The purchase was announced on the same day that the U.S. Treasury issued a new report highlighting the importance of stablecoins to the financial system, stating that USDC had become the “most widely used stablecoin” in the U.S. economy. ARK’s timing suggests a keen awareness of the regulatory narrative, and the firm’s statement indicates that it views Circle’s compliance roadmap as a key competitive advantage.

Market Reactions

ARK’s shares surged nearly 3 % on the news of the Circle investment, reflecting investor confidence in Wood’s conviction that the crypto space offers “high‑growth, high‑return opportunities.” Circle’s stock also rose modestly, trading above the $90 threshold for the first time since the announcement.

Notably, analysts in the fintech sector highlighted that Circle’s stablecoin revenue now accounts for more than 70 % of its total earnings. With ARK’s stake, Circle could accelerate product development and regulatory lobbying efforts – potentially expanding USDC into new jurisdictions such as the European Union’s upcoming MiCA regulation.

Looking Ahead

Cathie Wood’s bet on Circle reflects a broader narrative that the traditional financial system is increasingly converging with the blockchain world. As stablecoins become mainstream payment instruments, companies that provide the underlying infrastructure – like Circle – stand to benefit from both transaction fees and the expanding ecosystem of decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.

The investment also provides a useful case study on how institutional capital can influence the trajectory of a crypto‑company. While the market will continue to react to short‑term price swings, the long‑term upside for Circle hinges on its ability to maintain regulatory compliance, scale its payment solutions, and deepen the integration of USDC across banking systems.

For ARK Invest, the Circle stake is a reminder of the firm’s willingness to play a pivotal role in the next wave of fintech evolution. By backing a stablecoin that is already one of the most widely used digital assets, Wood is positioning her portfolio to benefit from the “shift toward digital money” that has been accelerating over the past decade. Whether the stock price of Circle will climb past the $90 barrier again remains to be seen, but the underlying business fundamentals – a robust stablecoin, a diversified payment ecosystem, and an expanding global user base – suggest that the firm has a compelling narrative for long‑term growth.