ARK Invest launches tokenized ARK Venture Fund shares on Ethereum with a $500 minimum

ARK Invest puts its venture fund shares on Ethereum

ARK Invest, the firm led by Cathie Wood, has launched tokenized shares of its ARK Venture Fund (ARKVX) on Ethereum through the platform Securitize. The minimum investment is $500. Ethereum is a blockchain, a shared digital ledger that records transactions.

The offering is available to U.S. retail investors, Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo said. He described the launch as ARK's first tokenization project.

ARK already offered the fund to accredited and non-accredited investors. The tokenized version adds a way to subscribe to and hold shares onchain, and it does not change the fund's investment strategy.

Key numbers from the fund and the offering

• Minimum investment: $500, with subscriptions funded in USDC, a stablecoin designed to hold a value of about one dollar.
• A 2% transaction fee is deducted before shares are priced at net asset value, or NAV, which is the per-share value of the fund's assets.
• ARKVX is an actively managed closed-end interval fund that invests in private and public companies. It reported $1.3 billion in net assets as of June 30, across all fund share classes.
• At Aug. 31, SpaceX was its largest disclosed holding at 7.54%, followed by Kalshi at 5.81% and Ayar Labs at 5.65%. The portfolio also held OpenAI, Stripe and Anthropic.

What the SEC order allows

The SEC's Sept. 21 order, Release No. IC-36333, amended ARK's earlier permission to operate multiple share classes. It allows an exchange-listed class and a Tokenized Class that can trade on alternative trading systems, which are broker-operated trading venues, or be quoted on other quotation venues. The earlier arrangement had said the shares would not be exchange-listed or quoted.

The relief comes with conditions summarized in the SEC's notice. Only wallets cleared through identity and anti-money-laundering checks may hold Tokenized Class shares, and peer-to-peer transfers can take place between approved wallets. The fund must publish the prior business day's NAV each business day and disclose that secondary trades may happen above or below NAV. Tokenized Class shares cannot carry early withdrawal charges.

The Sept. 21 order followed an application that The Defiant covered on Sept. 8, when SEC relief was still pending and no blockchain or tokenization provider had been named.

How subscriptions work through Securitize

Investors must complete identity and eligibility checks and register an approved wallet before subscribing, according to Securitize's offering page. Subscriptions are funded in USDC, and the 2% transaction fee is deducted before shares are priced at NAV.

The subscription is not an instant token swap. Investors commit USDC before the day's NAV is known and receive tokens after pricing, Securitize explained. Requests, pending orders and delivery are tracked onchain. In a Sept. 24 post, the company said "ARKVX is live."

What is confirmed

• ARK launched tokenized ARKVX shares on Ethereum through Securitize with a $500 minimum, open to U.S. retail investors.
• The SEC issued an order on Sept. 21, Release No. IC-36333, permitting a Tokenized Class that can trade on alternative trading systems or be quoted on other quotation venues.
• Tokenized Class shares are restricted to wallets that pass identity and anti-money-laundering checks.
• Buybacks remain limited to quarterly repurchase offers for up to 5% of the fund's outstanding shares at NAV, with requests subject to proration.

What is still unclear

Permission to trade does not guarantee an exit. Securitize's offering page keeps quarterly repurchase offers capped at 5% of outstanding shares at NAV, and requests can be prorated. The launch disclosure says no secondary market is expected to develop and that shareholders may not be able to sell when they want.

Why this launch stands out

The tokenized class sits inside an SEC order that now permits trading on alternative trading systems or quotation venues, which the earlier arrangement did not allow. It is also ARK's first tokenization project, according to Securitize's CEO. At the same time, the fund's exit options remain limited by the quarterly repurchase structure.

Sources

• The Defiant