SKN | Crypto Today: ARK Buys the Dip, BNY Expands USDC Services, Germany Leads MiCA Licensing

• ARK Invest purchased approximately $43.5 million in crypto-related stocks, including Coinbase, Circle, Bullish, Robinhood and SoFi, during the recent market downturn.

• BNY expanded its Digital Asset Custody platform to support USDC minting, redemption, custody and transfers for institutional clients.

• Germany has emerged as the leading jurisdiction under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, accounting for nearly one-quarter of all approved crypto licenses.

ARK Invest Buys Crypto Stocks During Market Sell-Off

Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest increased its exposure to the cryptocurrency sector by purchasing approximately $43.5 million worth of crypto-related equities over the past three trading sessions.

The investment firm acquired an additional 122,544 shares of Coinbase valued at roughly $18.6 million and purchased approximately 169,777 shares of Circle worth nearly $12.9 million. ARK also added positions in crypto exchange Bullish, brokerage platform Robinhood and crypto-friendly financial institution SoFi Technologies.

Most of the purchases were allocated to ARK’s flagship ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK), with additional investments placed in the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW).

The buying activity comes as crypto-related equities have experienced sharp declines alongside broader weakness in digital asset markets. Over the past month, shares of Circle, Coinbase and Bullish have fallen significantly while Bitcoin recently traded near its lowest level in almost two years.

BNY Expands Institutional Stablecoin Services

Bank of New York Mellon (BNY) has strengthened its partnership with Circle by expanding its Digital Asset Custody platform to support institutional USDC services.

Clients can now securely store, transfer, mint and redeem USD Coin directly through the platform, allowing institutions to convert US dollars into USDC and redeem stablecoins back into fiat currency within BNY’s custody infrastructure.

The expansion builds upon BNY’s existing role as custodian of the reserves backing USDC, extending the relationship beyond asset safeguarding into full-service institutional stablecoin operations.

BNY currently oversees approximately $59.3 trillion in assets under custody and administration while serving more than 90% of Fortune 100 companies. The bank also indicated that support for additional stablecoins and digital cash services is expected in the future.

Germany Leads Europe’s MiCA Licensing Rollout

As the European Union prepares to fully implement the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, Germany has emerged as the region’s dominant licensing hub.

According to data compiled from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), Germany has authorized 57 Crypto-Asset Service Providers (CASPs), representing approximately 23% of all MiCA licenses issued across Europe.

France follows with 26 approved firms, alongside the Netherlands as another leading jurisdiction for crypto licensing.

The distribution of approvals illustrates that although MiCA is designed to create a unified regulatory framework across the European Union, implementation continues to vary significantly among national regulators ahead of the July 1 transition deadline.

Outlook

Institutional activity continues to shape the cryptocurrency industry despite ongoing market volatility. ARK Invest’s purchases demonstrate continued confidence in digital asset companies during market weakness, while BNY’s expanding stablecoin infrastructure reflects growing institutional adoption. At the same time, Europe’s rollout of MiCA marks a significant step toward establishing a more mature and standardized regulatory environment for crypto businesses operating across the region.