ARK Invest Makes Major Move Toward Regulated Crypto Infrastructure, Moving Away from Conventional Tech Leaders

Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest has notably boosted its investment in Bullish, a digital asset trading platform, by acquiring an additional $12 million in shares through its three main ETFs—ARKK,

, and ARKF—on Monday, as detailed in a . This move follows a $5.3 million purchase made the previous week, raising ARK’s total stake in Bullish to 2.27 million shares, now valued at $114 million, according to . CoinDesk further reported that ARK’s overall exposure to crypto assets across its ETFs has surpassed $2.15 billion, marking a deliberate pivot toward blockchain infrastructure and away from legacy tech companies such as Palantir and Shopify.

This latest acquisition comes as Bullish achieves key regulatory and operational milestones. In October, the exchange obtained both a BitLicense and a money transmission license from New York authorities, allowing it to begin U.S. spot trading in 20 states, as per the Markets.com report. Institutional players like BitGo and Nonco have already adopted its services, and since 2021, the platform has facilitated over $1.5 trillion in global trades, according to

. Tom Farley, Bullish’s CEO and former NYSE president, has highlighted the company’s focus on regulatory compliance, presenting Bullish as a regulated alternative to offshore exchanges, as mentioned by .

ARK’s optimistic outlook comes as Bullish broadens its offerings. The exchange introduced a crypto options trading platform in late October, which saw $82 million in trades within its first five days, according to the Markets.com report. This new platform enables users to use their entire portfolio as collateral across spot, futures, and options markets, drawing in institutional clients like FalconX Global and Wintermute, the report added. Although Bullish’s share price slipped by 0.71% on Monday, the stock has rebounded from a month-long downturn, as noted in a

.

ARK’s growing position in Bullish highlights its broader commitment to regulated digital asset infrastructure. The company’s three ETFs now dedicate 29% (ARKF), 25.7% (ARKW), and 17.7% (ARKK) of their portfolios to crypto-related holdings, including investments in Coinbase, Robinhood, and stablecoin issuer Circle, as reported by CoinDesk. Analysts point out that ARK’s approach of buying during market pullbacks—such as its $172 million initial investment in Bullish after its $1.1 billion NYSE debut—positions the firm to benefit from the long-term rise of institutional crypto services, according to FinanceFeeds.

The timing of ARK’s recent acquisition also coincides with Bullish’s upcoming third-quarter earnings release on November 19, which may reveal further advances in U.S. market growth and trading activity, as also mentioned by Crypto.news. With Bullish now among the top 10 exchanges for

and Ether trading, Cointelegraph’s analysis suggests that ARK’s ongoing investment reflects confidence in Bullish’s ability to thrive in a regulatory-focused environment led by major players like Coinbase.