SEC Approves ARK Venture Fund’s Tokenized ETF Share Classes

SEC clears ARK Venture Fund to add exchange-traded and tokenized share classes

ARK Investment Management has received amended exemptive relief from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that would allow its $562 million ARK Venture Fund to introduce two new share classes: one designed for exchange trading and another whose ownership records could be maintained using distributed ledger technology.

The request was filed under the Investment Company Act and sought to amend an exemptive order the SEC previously granted in November 2025. The SEC published notice of the request on Aug. 24 and set Sept. 18 as the deadline for hearing requests, after which the regulator could grant the order.

The ARK Venture Fund is a continuously offered, non-diversified closed-end interval fund structured as a Delaware statutory trust. It invests in both public and private companies focused on “disruptive innovation.” The fund currently offers Class D (ARKVX), Class S (ARKSX), and Class U (ARKUX) shares.

What changes under the amended order

The amended relief enables two distinct rails for secondary trading of interests in the same underlying fund.

• Exchange Class: A share class that could be listed on a national securities exchange.
• Tokenized Class: A share class whose ownership would be recorded using distributed ledger technology, with trading potentially occurring on alternative trading systems registered under Regulation ATS, on other quotation mediums, or via peer-to-peer transfers between approved (“whitelisted”) wallets.

ARK’s filing also states it is not seeking relief to list or quote the tokenized shares on decentralized finance platforms.

Different settlement and distribution mechanics

According to the filing, settlement expectations would differ by class. Some Tokenized Class transactions may be able to settle on a T+0 basis, while Exchange Class transactions are expected to settle on T+1.

Investors would receive Tokenized Class shares through the fund’s normal subscription process at net asset value, with no sales load attached. Distribution could occur through registered broker-dealers or directly through the fund’s transfer agent.

Why it matters

The amended structure marks a notable shift from ARK’s earlier posture under the November 2025 exemptive order, which included the representation that the fund’s shares would not be exchange-listed or quoted and that it did not expect a secondary trading market. The proposed amended order would replace that prior order and explicitly provides a framework for both exchange listing and tokenized ownership records within a registered interval fund structure.

The approval is best understood as regulatory clearance for the structure rather than confirmation that the new share classes are already trading. It gives ARK Venture Fund room to offer both a traditional exchange-traded class and a tokenized class that can be supported by distributed-ledger-based recordkeeping, while staying within the constraints of existing securities rules governing registered funds.

ARK Venture Fund is separate from ARK’s better-known ARK Innovation ETF, which operates through ARK ETF Trust and reported $6.55 billion in assets.