Cathie Wood Puts OpenAI and Anthropic Stakes on the Blockchain

TLDR

• ARK Invest tokenized its ARK Venture Fund (ARKVX) through Securitize on Ethereum.
• The fund holds stakes in OpenAI, Anthropic, Stripe and Databricks, among other companies.
• Investors get a fund-level interest, not direct ownership of the underlying companies.
• The SEC approved an amended order on September 21 allowing a tokenized share class.
• Securitize will handle onchain issuance while ARK continues managing the fund’s investments.

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Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest has launched a tokenized version of its ARK Venture Fund. The move uses Securitize’s infrastructure on the Ethereum network.

Today, we’re bringing the ARK Venture Fund (ARKVX) onchain with @ARKInvest and making it available on @ethereum.

For the first time, eligible investors can access the tokenized version of ARK’s flagship disruptive innovation fund with a minimum investment of $500. pic.twitter.com/J9ME81et8D

— Securitize (@Securitize) September 24, 2026

The fund is known by its ticker ARKVX. It is an actively managed interval fund built for long-term growth through companies tied to new technology.

Its current holdings include OpenAI, Anthropic, Stripe and Databricks. ARK has said these holdings can change over time as fund managers adjust the portfolio.

Eligible investors can now access a tokenized interest in ARKVX through Securitize. This interest represents a stake in the fund itself, not direct shares in any single company it holds.

What the Tokenization Actually Changes

The launch does not tokenize the individual companies inside the fund. OpenAI and Anthropic shares are not being placed onchain on their own.

Instead, the fund wrapper itself is represented on Ethereum. Securitize manages the onchain issuance and the investor experience for that process.

Reports indicate more blockchain networks could be added after this initial Ethereum release. No timeline has been given for that expansion.

Securitize also said ARKVX shares are not listed on any securities exchange. The company does not expect a secondary market to develop for these shares right now.

Access remains limited by investor eligibility rules and standard regulatory restrictions. These conditions apply the same way they would for the fund’s traditional, non-tokenized shares.

The SEC Order Behind the Launch

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved an amended order for the fund on September 21. It permits ARK to offer a tokenized share class.

That class may trade on alternative trading systems or be quoted through other approved channels. A separate class under the same order could eventually list on a national exchange.

The SEC said no one requested a hearing before the order took effect. Approval does not mean shares are already trading on any alternative system yet.

This order followed an earlier ARK application seeking a change to relief the SEC granted in November 2025. At that time, ARK had not named a blockchain or a provider.

The new announcement fills in those details, naming Ethereum and Securitize directly. An investor buying fund shares pays net asset value plus any applicable sales charge.

Background on the ARK and Securitize Partnership

The partnership builds on ARK’s $10 million strategic investment in Securitize made in October 2025. That deal focused on building regulated tokenized investment products together.

Securitize has since pursued a public listing through a merger with a Cantor Fitzgerald-backed acquisition company. That plan includes a $225 million private investment round.

Securitize now trades under the ticker SECZ on the New York Stock Exchange. ARK Invest is listed among its existing backers.

ARK has also expanded its crypto-adjacent holdings elsewhere. In August, the firm purchased about $37.4 million in Block shares and $3.36 million in Circle shares.

Those purchases were separate equity investments through ARK’s exchange-traded funds. They were not part of the ARKVX tokenization project.

The ARKVX launch follows the SEC’s broader September exemption allowing certain tokenized U.S. stocks to trade under specific conditions for five years. That separate order covers individual company shares on qualifying venues, distinct from ARK’s fund-specific approval.