Today in crypto, Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest sold $22 million Coinbase shares across three ETFs, Bitcoin mining difficulty drops by over 11%. Meanwhile, the US has granted a national bank charter to crypto startup Erebor Bank.
ARK extends Coinbase selling streak with another $22M sale, adds Bullish
Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest continued reducing its exposure to crypto exchange Coinbase on Friday, unloading $22 million worth of shares across multiple exchange-traded funds (ETFs) while adding to its position in digital asset platform Bullish.
According to ARK’s trade disclosures, the firm sold 92,737 Coinbase Global shares from the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK), 32,790 shares from the Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) and 8,945 shares from the Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF). The combined transactions totaled 134,472 shares, worth around $22.1 million.
The sale came as ARK Invest, led by Cathie Wood, has reversed course on Coinbase, selling 119,236 COIN worth about $17.4 million on Thursday after a brief purchase earlier in the week. The Thursday sale was the firm’s first Coinbase sale of 2026 and its first since August 2025.
Meanwhile, Coinbase stock climbed during the Friday session, closing at about $165 after gaining roughly 13% on the day. However, the exchange’s shares are still down by 26% year-to-date (YTD), according to data from Google Finance.
Bitcoin mining difficulty falls by 11.1% in steepest drop since China’s 2021 crypto crackdown
The Bitcoin network mining difficulty, the relative challenge of proposing new blocks for inclusion in the Bitcoin blockchain, fell by over 11.1% over the last 24 hours, marking the sharpest drop in a single adjustment period since China’s 2021 mining ban.
The Bitcoin network mining difficulty is at 125.86 T, according to data from CoinWarz, which also shows the average block time has fallen from over 11 minutes to about 9.47 minutes.
Difficulty is projected to rise again in the next adjustment on February 20, increasing difficulty to about 132.9 T, according to projections from CoinWarz at the time of this writing.
The steep adjustment in mining difficulty came amid a broad market downturn that crashed Bitcoin’s (BTC) price by over 50% and a severe winter storm in the United States that impacted energy infrastructure and caused a temporary reduction in miner hashrate.
Crypto-focused Erebor wins first new US bank charter of Trump’s second term: WSJ
The United States has approved a newly created national bank for the first time during President Donald Trump’s second term, granting a charter to crypto-friendly startup Erebor Bank.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) confirmed the approval on Friday, allowing the lender to operate nationwide, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The institution launches with about $635 million in capital and aims to serve startups, venture-backed companies and high-net-worth clients, a segment left underserved after the 2023 collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.
Erebor is backed by a roster of prominent technology investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, 8VC and Elad Gil. The project was founded by Oculus co-creator Palmer Luckey, who will sit on the board but not manage daily operations.
