Markets · ETFs
A 21Shares filing says ARK's marketing and sub-advisory role on ARKB ends Dec. 22, and the fund is set to become the 21Shares Bitcoin ETF a week earlier. The filing gives no reason.
ARK Investment Management is losing its name on the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, the spot bitcoin fund that trades as ARKB. The fund's sponsor, 21Shares US LLC, said in a regulatory filing on Thursday that it is ending ARK's role and plans to rebrand the fund under its own name.
According to the 8-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and accepted at 4:01 p.m. ET, 21Shares gave ARK notice on Oct. 16 that it was terminating the "marketing and sub-advisory agreement" between the two firms, effective Dec. 22 [1]. That agreement covers the sub-advisory services and marketing help ARK provides to the trust. The sponsor "has elected to terminate the Support Services Agreement pursuant to its terms," the filing says [1].
A week before the termination takes effect, on Dec. 15, the sponsor intends to rename the trust "21Shares Bitcoin ETF" and change its ticker on the Cboe BZX Exchange from ARKB to "TBIT" [1].
The filing does not say why 21Shares ended the arrangement. It also mentions no change to the fund's fees, custody or bitcoin holdings. Le Coin found no statement on the split from either firm as of 4:22 p.m. ET.
For holders, the visible change is the name and the four letters on their brokerage screen. The fund itself is the same trust with the same sponsor, and the filing ties the rename to the end of ARK's role.
In Le Coin's view, the move is mostly about brand ownership. ARK lent the fund its name; 21Shares now appears ready to market the product on its own. The fair counterpoint is that the filing is silent on motive, and a contract ending "pursuant to its terms" can mean many things.
What is not yet known is whether either firm will explain the decision, and what, if anything, ARK plans in spot bitcoin ETFs after Dec. 22.
Holding the Corner.
Not financial advice.