Circle’s Meteoric Rally Lifts ARK ETFs to Multi-Year Highs
- The GENIUS Act has spurred a surge in the stablecoin issuer’s stock, boosting ARK ETFs.
- ARKK is up 20% since Circle’s IPO.
Shares of Circle Internet Group Inc. (CRCL) continued their meteoric rise on Friday, surging as high as $242, nearly eight times its IPO price of $31 on June 5. The rally, which has captivated markets, was supercharged last week by the Senate’s passage of the GENIUS Act, a landmark bill that legitimizes stablecoins and provides a regulatory framework for their issuance.
The legislation requires that stablecoins be backed by liquid assets such as dollars or Treasury bills and mandates monthly reserve disclosures by issuers. For Circle, which manages USDC, the world’s second-largest stablecoin by market value ($61 billion), the bill is a major boost to its credibility and growth prospects.
GENIUS Act Boosts CRCL, ARK ETFs
The market has taken notice. Circle’s stock has become one of the hottest public listings in recent memory, and one of the biggest beneficiaries has been Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest.
On Circle’s first trading day, ARK’s ETFs—including the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK), ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) and ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF)—purchased a combined 4.5 million shares of the newly-listed company. At Friday’s high, that stake would have been worth $1.1 billion, a $950 million gain if purchased at the IPO price.
ARK has since trimmed about 15% of its Circle position, locking in some profits while the stock continues to soar.
ARKK Multi-Year Highs
The stunning ascent of Circle has helped supercharge ARK’s ETF performance. ARKK is up 20% since Circle’s IPO and is now trading at its highest level in over three years. ARKW is up 17% and trades at a 3.5-year high, while ARKF has gained 14%, likewise reaching a 3.5-year high.
It marks a rare win—and perhaps a comeback moment—for ARK Invest, which has struggled to regain its footing after the pandemic-era boom in speculative growth stocks faded. After huge gains in 2020 and 2021, ARK funds plunged in 2022 and lagged the broader market recovery in 2023 and 2024.
Despite the ongoing surge in artificial intelligence stocks, ARK’s ETFs notably missed the AI trade, having sold out of Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) in 2022 before its meteoric run. As a result, ARK’s performance trailed that of more passive tech-focused funds like the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ).
But 2025 is shaping up differently. Year to date, ARKW and ARKF are up about 30%, handily beating QQQ’s 3% gain. The only outlier remains the ARK Genomic Revolution ETF (ARKG), which is up a mere 1% this year.
For now, the Circle bet is breathing new life into ARK’s actively managed strategy, reminding investors that ARK still knows how to swing for the fences.
