We write about Cathie Wood a lot, and for good reason.
She has been one of Wall Street’s earliest and most consistent believers in crypto. Long before Bitcoin and Ethereum became institutional assets, Wood was building exposure through companies like Coinbase, Tesla and a growing list of crypto-linked firms.
Every week, her ARK funds move in and out of names like Coinbase, Robinhood, Tesla, and more recently, stablecoin companies.
But this week, one move stood out.
And just days later, the stock tumbled.
Circle had been one of the hottest crypto-linked stocks in the market, surging more than 100% in recent weeks as stablecoin optimism picked up.
Then came the drop.
Within days of that sale, Circle shares plunged 20% to close at $101.17 on March 24.
Despite trimming about $5.9 million worth of shares just days earlier, ARK still holds approximately $441 million in Circle across its ETFs, making it one of the firm’s largest positions and leaving the portfolio heavily exposed to the sudden sell-off.
Across ARK’s combined ETFs, Circle is the fourth-largest holding, with a 4.20% portfolio weight, behind Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA), CRISPR Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CRSP) and Advanced Micro Devices (Nasdaq: AMD), and ahead of Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN) and Shopify (Nasdaq: SHOP).
• Cathie Wood's ARK warns of shocking risk to 35% of Bitcoin
What actually caused the crash
The sell-off was triggered by policy.
A draft version of the proposed U.S. “Clarity Act” introduced new uncertainty around one of the most important features of stablecoins: yield.
Stablecoin yield — whether through platform rewards or indirect pass-through income — has been a key driver of adoption. It’s one of the reasons users hold assets like USDC beyond simple payments.
Take that away, and the value proposition changes.
Circle’s model is deeply tied to this structure. The company earns interest on reserves backing USDC and shares that income with partners like Coinbase, which then funds user rewards.
If that loop is broken, the impact could be meaningful.
Coinbase shares also dropped around 8%, highlighting how interconnected the stablecoin economy has become.