ARK Invest, the asset manager founded by Cathie Wood, has brought its ARK Venture Fund onchain, tokenizing the investment vehicle on Ethereum in partnership with Securitize. The move gives eligible investors blockchain-based access to a portfolio spanning private and public companies, and it lands as U.S. regulators advance rulemaking for tokenized securities and stablecoins. The overlap places the fund's debut inside a broader shift in which blockchain infrastructure is being folded into conventional asset management.

The fund, identified as ARKVX, invests in companies associated with disruptive technologies and holds exposure to private businesses alongside publicly traded firms. According to the announcement, its holdings and exposure include private companies and startups such as OpenAI, Stripe, Anthropic, Databricks, Neuralink, Perplexity AI, Epic Games and The Boring Company, together with publicly traded names including Alphabet, Nvidia, Robinhood, Tesla, Coinbase and Shopify. Stakes in private companies of this kind have traditionally been difficult for retail investors to access through conventional investment channels.

Securitize, which specializes in tokenizing real-world assets, said the partnership represents an expansion of ARK's investment strategy onto blockchain infrastructure. The firm reported more than $5 billion in assets under management as of July.

We didn't just invest in tokenization. We tokenized our own fund. The ARK Venture Fund is now live on the @ethereum blockchain with @Securitize. Learn more: pic.twitter.com/WGmM5auMXv

— ARK Funds (@ARK_Funds) September 25, 2026

The tokenized structure does not eliminate the regulatory and eligibility requirements associated with the underlying securities. Instead, tokenization provides blockchain-based infrastructure for representing ownership interests in an investment product, expanding digital access to the strategy.

SEC Opens Door to Tokenized Stock Trading

The launch follows a Sept. 17 action by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that granted temporary, conditional exemptive relief to certain Tokenized Securities Venues. The measure allows qualifying venues to facilitate permissioned trading of tokenized National Market System stocks automated market makers and liquidity pools.

The SEC's action is significant for the development of onchain capital markets because it establishes a regulatory framework for certain tokenized stock trading activities while the agency considers longer-term rules. The exemption is temporary and conditional rather than a blanket authorization for unrestricted tokenized stock trading.

The SEC order also sets conditions concerning the underlying securities. Tokenized NMS stocks must meet specified requirements, including provisions on the rights attached to the securities and the ability of issuers to object to trading on a tokenized securities venue.

The regulatory development could support broader experimentation with blockchain-based market infrastructure, including potential improvements in how securities are issued, transferred and settled. Because the relief is temporary, how the agency's longer-term rulemaking resolves, and whether the current conditions carry into a permanent framework, is likely to shape how far tokenized stock trading develops on U.S. venues.

Federal Reserve Proposes Stablecoin Framework

Separately, the Federal Reserve on Sept. 24 requested public comment on two proposals implementing its responsibilities under the GENIUS Act, the federal stablecoin statute. The proposals focus on payment stablecoin issuers supervised by the Federal Reserve and would establish requirements covering reserves, capital, risk management and applications from banks seeking approval to issue payment stablecoins.

The first proposal would require covered stablecoin issuers to fully back their tokens with permitted reserve assets, including short-term Treasury securities and other high-quality liquid assets. It would also introduce standardized capital requirements and risk-management standards, while setting requirements for firms that safeguard reserve assets.

The second proposal would create a tailored application process for supervised banks seeking approval to issue payment stablecoins. Applicants would need to provide business plans and financial information, with procedures covering appeals, hearings and final regulatory determinations.

Taken together, the proposals would establish reserve, capital, risk-management and application requirements for payment stablecoin issuers under the GENIUS Act, creating a more defined regulatory framework for bank-supervised stablecoin activity. Because the measures are proposals rather than final rules, the requirements could still be revised in response to public comments, making the comment period and any subsequent finalization the next procedural markers to watch.

Bitcoin Market Remains Volatile

The regulatory and institutional developments arrive as cryptocurrency markets remain sensitive to broader risk conditions. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading near $83,900, with its weekly gain reduced to less than 4%.

The price movement underscores the distinction between cryptocurrency market performance and the continuing buildout of blockchain-based financial infrastructure. While Bitcoin and other digital assets remain subject to market volatility, tokenization initiatives are increasingly centered on securities, funds and payment instruments.

The combination of ARK's tokenized fund, the SEC's temporary framework for certain tokenized stocks and the Federal Reserve's proposed stablecoin rules indicates that blockchain technology is increasingly being incorporated into established financial structures. The next stage will depend on regulatory feedback, investor participation and how effectively these systems operate at scale.

This article is based on CoinTrust's original report.