Ark Invest has been putting real money where its mouth is. In a single day — February 12 — the firm snapped up shares across three separate companies tied to the crypto space.
According to trading disclosures, Ark purchased 212,314 shares of Bitmine worth roughly $4.2 million, 74,323 shares of Bullish valued at about $2.4 million, and 174,767 shares of Robinhood totaling nearly $12.4 million.
These weren’t small, cautious moves. They were deliberate bets made during a stretch when Bitcoin has been losing ground.
The Numbers Tell An Uncomfortable Truth
Bitcoin is down 26% so far this year. Gold, by comparison, has climbed 19% over the same period. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was changing hands at $63,200 while gold traded at around $3,180 per troy ounce.
Those figures don’t exactly support the case for dumping the old safe haven in favor of the new one — at least not right now. The gap between what Cathie Wood believes and what the market is actually doing has never been more visible.
Wood isn’t backing down. In a recent Bloomberg interview, the Ark Invest founder called Bitcoin “hands down” better than gold — a strong claim for an asset that has spent most of this year sliding.
Cathie Wood: Bitcoin is “hands down” better than Gold. pic.twitter.com/38LYF4IcaF
— Altcoin Daily (@AltcoinDaily) February 23, 2026
Her argument isn’t built on this month’s price chart. It’s built on where she thinks money is headed over the next decade. Reports say she views Bitcoin as a hedge that works in both inflationary and deflationary conditions, a flexibility she believes gold cannot match in the same way.
Younger Money Is Moving Differently
Part of Wood’s conviction rests on who is doing the buying — and who isn’t. Institutional exposure to Bitcoin is still being built out, she noted, while younger investors are increasingly choosing digital assets over physical bullion.
Gold’s buyer base is mature and well established. Bitcoin’s is still forming. That distinction matters to Wood because it suggests the bulk of Bitcoin’s demand hasn’t arrived yet. Early adoption, in her reading, means there’s still a long runway ahead.
Ark’s portfolio reflects that view. Bullish has climbed to the ninth-largest holding in the firm’s ARKF fund, carrying a 3.4% weighting valued at close to $30 million.
Ark also holds positions in Block, Circle, and Coinbase — a collection of bets that together paint a picture of a firm fully committed to the idea that crypto-linked companies will be worth far more in the years ahead.
A Long Game In A Short-Term Market
The tension Wood is navigating is real. Gold is winning 2025 so far. Bitcoin is not. But Ark’s buying activity suggests the firm sees that gap not as a reason to pull back, but as a window.
Reports note that Wood and her team remain focused on adoption curves and structural shifts rather than quarterly returns.
Featured image from Kanchanara on Unsplash, chart from TradingView
