Key Takeaways
- • ARK Investment Management filed with the SEC in May 2026 to create a tokenized share class for its ARK Venture Fund, with amendments submitted in June and August, positioning the firm to become one of the first regulated U.S. fund managers to offer blockchain-based share ownership.
- • The proposed Tokenized Class would track ownership on distributed ledger technology and permit peer-to-peer transfers between SEC-compliant wallets, subject to full KYC/AML verification, while remaining eligible for trading on SEC-registered alternative trading systems.
- • The SEC published formal notice of ARK's application in the Federal Register on August 26, 2026, initiating a public comment and hearing period expected to conclude in mid-September 2026.
- • The ARK Venture Fund, launched in 2022 as an interval fund, offers quarterly repurchase opportunities at approximately 5% of net asset value with a $500 minimum investment, and ARK holds approximately $10 million in Securitize, a tokenized real-world asset platform, signaling institutional commitment to the tokenization ecosystem.
- • Approval would position ARK ahead of larger competitors including BlackRock and Fidelity in offering tokenized fund shares through a regulated structure.
Summary
ARK Investment Management has submitted an application to the Securities and Exchange Commission requesting approval to add a tokenized share class to its ARK Venture Fund, a move that would establish ARK as one of the first U.S. fund managers to offer blockchain-based equity ownership in a regulated fund structure. The firm initially filed its application on May 20, 2026, followed by amendments on June 11 and August 7. The SEC published formal notice of the request in the Federal Register on August 26, initiating a public comment and hearing period slated to run through mid-September 2026.
The proposal seeks to amend an existing exemptive order ARK already holds under the Investment Company Act of 1940. ARK's current exemptive relief permits the ARK Venture Fund to operate multiple share classes and implement early withdrawal charges. The new Tokenized Class would function alongside the fund's existing Exchange Class shares, which trade on national securities exchanges. Critically, the Tokenized Class would use distributed ledger technology to record and track share ownership, enabling peer-to-peer transfers between approved wallets while maintaining regulatory compliance through mandatory KYC and AML verification for all wallet counterparties.
The ARK Venture Fund itself, which launched in 2022, operates as an interval fund targeting investors in innovation-focused public and private companies. The fund offers quarterly repurchase opportunities at roughly 5% of net asset value with a relatively accessible $500 minimum investment threshold. Beyond seeking regulatory approval for tokenized shares, ARK has already positioned itself in the tokenization infrastructure space: as of late 2025, the firm held approximately $10 million in Securitize, a leading platform specializing in the tokenization of real-world assets. This dual commitment—both as an issuer of tokenized securities and as an investor in tokenization infrastructure—underscores ARK's strategic positioning ahead of larger institutional competitors, including BlackRock and Fidelity, that have not yet launched comparable tokenized fund offerings through regulated channels.
The proposal seeks to amend an existing exemptive order ARK already holds under the Investment Company Act of 1940. ARK's current exemptive relief permits the ARK Venture Fund to operate multiple share classes and implement early withdrawal charges. The new Tokenized Class would function alongside the fund's existing Exchange Class shares, which trade on national securities exchanges. Critically, the Tokenized Class would use distributed ledger technology to record and track share ownership, enabling peer-to-peer transfers between approved wallets while maintaining regulatory compliance through mandatory KYC and AML verification for all wallet counterparties.
The ARK Venture Fund itself, which launched in 2022, operates as an interval fund targeting investors in innovation-focused public and private companies. The fund offers quarterly repurchase opportunities at roughly 5% of net asset value with a relatively accessible $500 minimum investment threshold. Beyond seeking regulatory approval for tokenized shares, ARK has already positioned itself in the tokenization infrastructure space: as of late 2025, the firm held approximately $10 million in Securitize, a leading platform specializing in the tokenization of real-world assets. This dual commitment—both as an issuer of tokenized securities and as an investor in tokenization infrastructure—underscores ARK's strategic positioning ahead of larger institutional competitors, including BlackRock and Fidelity, that have not yet launched comparable tokenized fund offerings through regulated channels.
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