ARK Invest Files for Tokenized Venture Fund Shares with SEC

ARK Investment Management has taken a concrete step toward integrating blockchain technology into mainstream finance by filing an exemptive application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm seeks to create a tokenized share class for its ARK Venture Fund, a continuously offered closed-end interval fund.

The Proposal: Dual Share Classes with a Digital Twist

The application outlines a structure with two distinct share classes for the fund:

  • Exchange-Traded Class: Shares listed and traded on a national securities exchange, following the conventional model.
  • Tokenized Class: Shares whose ownership would be recorded on a distributed ledger. This class is designed to enable peer-to-peer transfers between registered alternative trading systems or approved wallets.

The tokenized shares would be sold at net asset value without a sales load. Distribution is expected through registered broker-dealers or the fund’s transfer agent, with investors bearing associated transaction costs.

Regulatory Path and Open Questions

The filing is strategically agnostic on key technical specifics—it does not name a preferred blockchain or tokenization service provider, merely referencing a “tokenization agent” in its fee schedule. BNY Mellon currently serves as the fund’s transfer agent, administrator, and custodian.

ARK’s request for exemptive relief leans on several sections of the Investment Company Act, highlighting that such innovation still requires case-by-case regulatory approval. The industry has been anticipating a broader “tokenization exemptive relief” framework from the SEC, but those rules remain under development.

Context and Implications

The ARK Venture Fund holds an equity stake and convertible note in Securitize, the transfer agent for BlackRock’s BUIDL tokenized fund. This interconnectedness signals deepening ties between traditional finance and crypto-native infrastructure.

SEC approval would pave the way for the first registered fund shares from a major traditional U.S. asset manager that are freely transferable on-chain. This could offer accredited investors enhanced liquidity and flexibility, potentially setting a precedent for a new wave of tokenized investment products.