Ark Invest, the prominent investment firm headed by Cathie Wood, has made a notable foray into BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), acquiring over 240,507 shares valued at approximately $9.2 million on Thursday. This latest investment brings Ark’s total holdings in BMNR to around 6.8 million shares, equating to nearly $260 million across three of its actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) — ARKK, ARKF, and ARKW. Despite a recent downturn in BMNR’s stock prices, shares rebounded slightly on Friday, trading above $38, as Ethereum (ETH) also sees fluctuations, currently priced at $3,375.
The timing of Ark’s investment appears strategic, particularly given the firm’s significant acquisition of 4.7 million shares back in July, when BMNR was priced around $40.77 per share. During that period, BitMine Chairman Tom Lee expressed enthusiasm over Wood’s involvement, describing it as an “exponential opportunity.” BitMine, the largest publicly traded Ethereum treasury firm, currently possesses nearly 3.4 million ETH, valued at almost $11.3 billion. This positions BitMine as the second-largest entity in terms of digital asset treasures, trailing only behind the Bitcoin-focused Strategy, which holds nearly $65 billion in BTC.
Despite her firm’s ongoing bullish stance towards digital assets, Wood made headlines on Thursday by revising her long-term Bitcoin price target from $1.5 million to $1.2 million by 2030. This adjustment comes in light of the growing adoption of stablecoins, which Wood argues could impact Bitcoin’s valuation. In a recent interview with CNBC, she commented, “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.”
The new target aligns with the “base case” previously articulated by Ark Invest earlier this year, which anticipated a more conservative approach that factors in the active supply of Bitcoin. In their earlier report, the firm estimated that a bullish scenario could see Bitcoin reaching $2.4 million by 2030.
As of Friday, Bitcoin has seen a slight rise of 1.3% over the past 24 hours, now trading at $102,488. However, it faced a drop below $100,000 earlier in the week for the first time since May, casting a shadow over its potential to reach a new all-time high this year. Meanwhile, Ethereum has gained about 2.7%, yet remains significantly below its August peak of $4,946. Analysts are now estimating only a 26% chance of Bitcoin surpassing its previous highs this year, as the cryptocurrency market continues to navigate volatility.
