Cathie Woods ARK bags $5M in Bullish shares as the exchange celebrates US launch

Bullish celebrated its US debut after securing New Yorks BitLicense and money transmission license, launching trading across 20 states and partnering with BitGo and Nonco.

Cathie Woods ARK Invest has expanded its bet on Bullish, the digital asset exchange that recently went public on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker BLSH, acquiring over $5 million worth of shares across multiple ETFs.

According to daily trade disclosures from Friday, ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) bought 72,537 Bullish shares, ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) added 21,354, and ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF) purchased 11,122 shares.

The new purchase comes as ARK Invest purchased $8.27 million in Bullish shares in mid-October through two of its funds. The firm has been continuing its accumulation since the exchanges $1.1 billion NYSE debut, when ARK bought roughly $172 million worth of shares across its funds.

Bullish shares rose 1.24% on Friday to close at $50.57, recovering from earlier market volatility. The exchange is backed by Block.one and helmed by CEO Tom Farley.

Bullish shares gain 1.2% on Friday. Source: Google Finance

Related: ARK Invest-backed firm becomes largest ETH hoarder outside the US

Bullish celebrates US launch

The purchases coincided with Bullishs US launch event in New York, where the company brought together digital asset leaders to celebrate its expansion. “The energy in the room said it all — the future is Bullish,” the firm posted on X following the event.

In early October, Bullish officially launched in 20 US states after securing both a BitLicense and a money transmission license from New York regulators. The platform began spot trading with BitGo and Nonco as its first clients.

Bullish celebrates US launch. Source: Bullish

Since launching globally in 2021, Bullish has processed over $1.5 trillion in trades and now ranks among the top 10 exchanges by Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) volume.