Ark Invest Buys $9M in BitMine as Wood Lowers BTC Target

On Thursday, Ark Invest executed a significant purchase of 240,507 shares in BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), valued at approximately $9.2 million. This acquisition was distributed across three of the firm’s actively managed ETFs: ARKK, ARKF, and ARKW. Following this transaction, Ark’s collective holdings in BMNR now exceed 6.8 million shares, with a total market value approaching $260 million. This latest investment occurs against a backdrop of declining BMNR share prices, which have been pressured by Ethereum’s retreat from its recent all-time high. Despite the broader market weakness, BMNR shares demonstrated resilience on Friday, climbing 2% to trade above $38.

This purchase represents a continuation of Ark’s established bullish stance on BMNR. The firm’s most substantial acquisition of BitMine shares occurred in July, when it added roughly 4.7 million shares at a price point near $40.77. At that time, BitMine Chairman Tom Lee publicly endorsed Wood’s investment, characterizing it as “an exponential opportunity” and expressing his delight at Ark Invest’s participation. BitMine’s fundamental position remains formidable; the company holds nearly 3.4 million ETH, valued at almost $11.3 billion, cementing its status as the largest publicly traded Ethereum treasury firm. Globally, it ranks as the second-largest publicly traded digital asset treasury, trailing only MicroStrategy and its nearly $65 billion Bitcoin treasury.

Concurrent with the BMNR stock purchase, Cathie Wood made headlines by formally lowering her 2030 price target for Bitcoin. She revised her previous bullish prediction of $1.5 million per coin down to $1.2 million. In an interview with CNBC on Thursday, Wood attributed this adjustment to the rapid adoption of stablecoins, which are increasingly serving the financial needs of emerging markets—a role she had initially anticipated for Bitcoin. “Given what’s happening to stablecoins—serving emerging markets in the way we thought Bitcoin would—I think we could take $300,000 off of that bullish case [for Bitcoin],” Wood explained.

This new $1.2 million target aligns with the “base case” scenario Ark Invest outlined earlier this year, which factored in Bitcoin’s “active supply” by discounting coins that are lost or held long-term. In that same analysis, the firm’s most optimistic “bull case” projected a price of $2.4 million per Bitcoin by 2030. The revision comes during a period of volatility for the leading cryptocurrency; Bitcoin is currently trading at $102,488, up 1.3% over the last 24 hours, but it recently dipped below the $100,000 threshold for the first time since May, repeating the pattern early on Friday. According to predictors on Myriad, the probability of Bitcoin setting a new all-time high this year has diminished to just 26%.

The contrasting moves by Ark Invest—increasing exposure to a key Ethereum-focused firm while tempering expectations for Bitcoin—illustrate a nuanced investment strategy within the digital asset space. Ethereum, the primary asset underpinning BitMine’s valuation, is currently trading at $3,375, reflecting a 2.7% gain in the last 24 hours. However, it remains nearly 33% below its all-time high of $4,946 set in August. This price environment created a buying opportunity for Ark, allowing the firm to bolster its position in a leading crypto infrastructure company at a relative discount.

Ark Invest’s consistent accumulation of BMNR shares, now valued at a quarter of a billion dollars, signals a firm conviction in the long-term value proposition of companies that provide foundational services and treasury management within the cryptocurrency ecosystem. This is consistent with Wood’s and her firm’s historically bullish stance on digital assets and crypto equities. The simultaneous adjustment of the Bitcoin price target does not indicate a retreat from the crypto space but rather a refined, sector-specific outlook that differentiates between the potential of various digital assets and the companies that support them.