ARK Investment Management seeks SEC approval for tokenized share class of $562M venture fund

ARK Investment Management has requested SEC approval to launch a tokenized share class for its $562 million ARK Venture Fund. The application, filed on May 20, 2026, and amended on August 7, 2026, seeks to record share ownership using distributed ledger technology. If approved, the shares would trade on registered alternative trading systems and via whitelisted peer-to-peer wallets. The SEC has set a September 18, 2026, deadline for hearing requests before deciding on the exemptive relief.

ARK tokenized share class application

• ▪ARK Investment Management amended its SEC application on June 11, 2026, and August 7, 2026, under file number 812-16031.
• ▪The proposed SEC order would amend a November 2025 exemptive order that prohibited the ARK Venture Fund from offering shares without a secondary market.
• ▪ARK Investment Management is seeking to add both an Exchange Class and a Tokenized Class to the ARK Venture Fund.
• ▪ARK Investment Management filed an application with the SEC on May 20, 2026, to offer a tokenized share class of its ARK Venture Fund.

Distributed ledger ownership records

• ▪The proposed Tokenized Class of the ARK Venture Fund would record share ownership using distributed ledger technology.
• ▪The SEC proposed its first major overhaul of transfer agent rules in four decades on September 1, 2026, specifically addressing blockchain-based share records.
• ▪ARK Investment Management stated in its application that it is not seeking exemptive relief regarding whether or how distributed ledger technology is used to maintain shareholder records.

Alternative trading system venues

• ▪ARK Investment Management is not seeking regulatory relief to list or quote the Tokenized Class shares on decentralized finance platforms.
• ▪The proposed Tokenized Class shares would permit peer-to-peer transfers between whitelisted wallets that clear KYC and AML checks.
• ▪ARK Venture Fund's proposed Tokenized Class shares would be eligible for trading on SEC-registered alternative trading systems under Regulation ATS.

ARK Venture Fund structure

• ▪The ARK Venture Fund is a continuously offered, closed-end interval fund that held $562 million in total assets as of January 31, 2026.
• ▪The Bank of New York Mellon serves as the current transfer agent, administrator, and custodian for the ARK Venture Fund.
• ▪The ARK Venture Fund holds equity and a $10 million convertible note in tokenization platform Securitize, acquired on September 30, 2025.

SEC exemptive approval process

• ▪ARK Investment Management is pursuing the tokenized class through the standard exemptive application process rather than waiting for the SEC's pending tokenization innovation exemption.
• ▪The SEC published formal notice of ARK Investment Management's application on August 24, 2026, setting a September 18, 2026, deadline for hearing requests.

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