ARK puts $1.3B Venture Fund on Ethereum through Securitize

ARK Invest and Securitize announced on Sept. 24 that eligible investors can access tokenized interests in ARK Venture Fund (ARKVX) on Ethereum, putting the existing fund onchain. Securitize’s announcement says it will provide the infrastructure for onchain issuance and the investor experience. The Block reported that ARKVX had approximately $1.3 billion in net assets.

What does tokenization change for ARKVX?

Tokenization creates a blockchain-based representation of an interest in the fund. The announcement describes the offering as a way for eligible investors to gain exposure to ARKVX through blockchain infrastructure. It does not describe a change to the fund’s investment strategy: ARKVX remains an actively managed, closed-end interval fund investing in private and public companies focused on disruptive innovation.

Securitize says the tokenized interests will be available on Ethereum at launch. Its announcement does not identify a token standard or smart-contract address, so those implementation details are not confirmed. Nor does the announcement say that putting interests onchain changes what the fund owns. It notes that holdings can change over time.

Which companies are in the fund’s portfolio?

The announcement names OpenAI, Anthropic, Stripe and Databricks among ARKVX’s investments. Those examples describe current portfolio exposure, not a fixed basket: Securitize says the fund’s holdings are subject to change. The onchain issuance brings exposure to the managed fund; it does not issue separate tokens representing direct ownership of each portfolio company.

The Block’s report on the launch put the fund’s net assets at about $1.3 billion and said this is the first ARK fund brought onchain. That figure refers to the existing fund, not the value of tokenized interests issued at launch; the announcement gives no issuance total.

Does an Ethereum token make the fund freely tradable?

No such trading feature is confirmed. Securitize’s disclosure says ARKVX shares are not listed on a securities exchange, no secondary market is expected to develop, and liquidity is limited to periodic repurchase offers that may be oversubscribed. The release also says eligibility and other restrictions apply. It does not announce open trading or unrestricted access for wallet holders.

What is confirmed is an Ethereum-based issuance channel for eligible investors, operated through Securitize, for interests in ARK’s existing venture fund. The sources do not confirm the token contract, the number of interests issued, or a secondary trading venue. The fund’s stated liquidity limits remain part of the offering.