ARK Invest to launch tokenized ARK Venture Fund shares on Ethereum after SEC sign-off

ARK Invest and tokenization platform Securitize said Sept. 24 that the ARK Venture Fund will begin issuing tokenized fund shares on Ethereum for accredited investors. The firms stressed that purchasers will gain an ownership interest in the fund itself, not direct equity in individual portfolio companies such as OpenAI or Anthropic. Investors will be buying shares of the ARKVX fund and will be exposed to the returns and risks of the overall portfolio. Because the fund is actively managed, holdings can change as the manager buys and sells. The move follows U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission action on Sept. 21 approving an amended order that allows the ARK Venture Fund to introduce a tokenized share class. The filing says the shares may be traded on one or more alternative trading systems (ATS) or quoted through other approved channels. The SEC also permitted the fund to create another share class that could be eligible for listing on a national securities exchange, as long as each class continues to satisfy the conditions in ARK's application. The filing noted that no hearing requests were submitted during the notice-and-comment period, so the order became effective immediately. The SEC approval does not, by itself, mean the shares are already trading on an ATS. At present, qualified investors have access to the tokenized fund through the Securitize platform, which will run the onchain issuance system and handle investor onboarding, while ARK remains responsible for investment management and portfolio oversight. ARK's disclosures show the venture fund invests across private and public technology companies, with reported holdings that include OpenAI, Anthropic, Stripe and Databricks. In its SEC materials, ARK said investors subscribing directly will pay the net asset value of the relevant share class and any applicable sales or distribution charges. Once funds are received and the subscription is accepted, investors become shareholders and assume the associated tax status. The documents also warn that tokenized share classes may carry incremental expenses, including transfer agent fees and onchain transaction fees. ARK and Securitize have worked together for nearly a year. ARK announced a strategic investment in Securitize in October 2025, citing plans to advance regulated tokenized investment products and issuance infrastructure. Prior filings also indicate the ARK Venture Fund holds equity in Securitize and a $10 million convertible note. Separately, the SEC has previously granted qualified trading venues a five-year conditional exemption to trade tokenized versions of certain U.S. equities. That framework focused on individual stocks, while ARK's latest approval relates to tokenized fund shares under the Investment Company Act.