ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) is a digital asset investment trust that holds bitcoin directly on behalf of shareholders. The Trust generates revenue by charging a sponsor fee expressed as a percentage of assets under management, accrued daily against the Trust's bitcoin holdings. Shares are created and redeemed through Authorized Participants, who must be registered broker-dealers, using either cash or in-kind bitcoin transactions. The Trust's net asset value tracks the price of bitcoin via an index, with an arbitrage mechanism designed to keep share prices aligned with underlying bitcoin values. Bitcoin custody is provided by BitGo and BitGo New York under Custodial Services Agreements. The Trust is organized under New York law and files annual reports with the SEC. Russell Barlow serves as Chief Executive Officer and Duncan Moir serves as President and Principal Financial Officer, both as of February 27, 2026. Share redemptions during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 included 17,795,000 shares in October 2025 at an average price of $36.28, 18,325,000 shares in November 2025 at $31.91, and 12,200,000 shares in December 2025 at $29.46.

Revenue model

The Trust accrues a sponsor fee against its bitcoin holdings, reducing the amount of bitcoin represented by each share over time. This fee-based model is the sole revenue mechanism for the Sponsor. The Trust itself does not conduct operations or generate operating income independent of bitcoin price appreciation or depreciation.

Products and services

A single exchange-traded product: shares of the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, each representing a fractional interest in bitcoin held in custody. No other products or services are offered by the Trust.

Customers and end markets

Authorized Participants (registered broker-dealers) create and redeem baskets of shares directly with the Trust. End investors purchase and sell shares on a national securities exchange. The filing does not disclose customer concentration data or retail versus institutional share breakdowns.

Value-chain role

The Trust sits between bitcoin markets and public equity investors, holding physical bitcoin in custody and issuing exchange-traded shares that track bitcoin's price. BitGo and BitGo New York serve as Bitcoin Custodians. A Transfer Agent facilitates share settlement. Authorized Participants provide liquidity and arbitrage between share price and NAV.

Geographic exposure

The Trust is organized in New York and registered with the SEC. The filing does not specify geographic distribution of shareholders or operations beyond the United States.

Source: SEC 10-K, filed 2026-03-02

Industry: Commodity Contracts Brokers & Dealers