Several Coinbase executives and top shareholders have recently joined the likes of Cathie Wood’s asset management firm Ark Invest in offloading the Coinbase ($COIN) stock as it reaches a new yearly high. Along with Coinbase, other crypto stocks like Microstrategy gained significantly in recent weeks in an apparent anticipation of a spot Bitcoin ETF approval in January 2024.
Coinbase Stock Sale; Profit Taking?
While ARK Invest sold $COIN shares when the stock reach 52-week high of $178, the latest sale streak from Coinbase executives marked yet another high at $185. According to data from Inside Tracker, Brock Lawrence, the Chief People Officer at Coinbase, sold 104,767 $COIN shares on December 27, 2023, while the company’s director Ehrsam Frederick Ernest III sold 43,675 shares. Earlier on December 21, Ernest III sold 97,836 shares. Another director, Rajaram Gokul, has on December 26 sold 1,145 shares.
Earlier, CoinGape reported that executives at the crypto exchange, including chief executive officer Brian Armstrong and chief legal officer Paul Grewal sold the $COIN stocks in the backdrop of the US SEC lawsuit on June 6, 2023. The lawsuit alleged that the company was running the crypto platform as an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency.
Bitcoin ETF Approval
Earlier, CoinGape reported that Ark Invest sold a total of 343,261 Coinbase shares in the space of a week. This came amid rising confidence around the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approval of the Bitcoin ETF before the deadline of January 10, 2024. Although the speculation around ETF approval could mean further rise in crypto stock prices in the lead up to January 10, the recent offloading of $COIN stocks could be a profit taking strategy. On the other side, does this mean a minor correction is in the making for Bitcoin (BTC) Price before the ETF led rally begins?
