The market plummeted, and the institutions that were quietly buying at the bottom

In the waves of financial markets, investors often face an eternal challenge: how to capture opportunities in market turmoil. On March 11, 2025, the global market experienced a sudden plunge, and neither the US stock market nor the cryptocurrency market survived. However, as the saying goes, "greed when others are afraid", some keen investors and institutions choose to "buy the dip" at this moment - that is, buy at a low price, looking forward to a future rebound. This article will explore in-depth which institutions and investors were quietly buying at the bottom during yesterday's market plunge, and the investment logic behind them.

Ark Invest: A staunch believer in tech stocks

Ark Invest, led by Cathie Wood, once again demonstrates its firm confidence in innovative technology as technology stocks suffer a heavy blow. As Coinbase shares fell 17.6% on Monday, Ark Invest decisively bought 64,358 shares of Coinbase stock worth $11.5 million, according to The Block. in:

• Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) purchased 52,753 shares worth $9.4 million;
• Ark Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF) purchased 11,605 shares worth $2.1 million.

In addition, Ark also invested $9.6 million in Robinhood shares and sold $20.6 million worth of Block shares. On the day of the sharp drop in U.S. stocks on Monday, Ark Invest invested a total of more than $70 million, buying multiple stocks including Tesla, Palantir, Coinbase, AMD, Tempus AI and Robinhood.

This series of operations by Ark Invest is not accidental. Since its inception, Ark has been focusing on investing in companies with disruptive innovation potential. Despite frequent market volatility, it has always insisted that these companies will lead the technological revolution in the future. This time, Coinbase's stock price has increased its position when it fell, which is Ark's optimism about the long-term prospects of cryptocurrencies and fintech. at present:

• Among ARKK funds, Coinbase is the third largest holding, with a weight of 7.1%, and a value of approximately US$375.1 million, second only to Tesla and Roku;
• Among the ARKF funds, Coinbase is the second largest holding, with a weight of 7.7%, and a value of approximately US$65.7 million, second only to Shopify.

This configuration shows Ark's high emphasis on Coinbase, believing that its leading position in the field of cryptocurrency trading will continue to bring growth. At the same time, Mutou also made a judgment on the current market: the current market is digesting the final stage of a rolling recession, which will give the Trump administration and the Federal Reserve more room for policy adjustment than investors expect, which may push the US economy into a "deflationary prosperity" in the second half of this year. Cathie Wood believes that the Federal Reserve's monetary policy will be more flexible, and the market may underestimate this potential economic rebound momentum.

Mingcheng Group: Strategic Investor of Bitcoin

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Mingcheng Group once again demonstrated its strong interest in Bitcoin through its wholly-owned subsidiary Lead Benefit. According to Globenewswire, Lead Benefit purchased 333 bitcoins at an average price of $81,555 per coin, with a total investment of about $27 million. Previously, the company also purchased 500 Bitcoins at an average price of $94,375 each on January 9, 2025, with an investment of about $47 million.

This series of investment behaviors by Mingcheng Group highlights its strategy of viewing Bitcoin as a short-term investment tool. The company said that Bitcoin was purchased to capture its potential appreciation space and increase the diversity of asset allocations. In addition, the high liquidity of the Bitcoin market also provides convenience for companies to quickly cash out when needed and support their main business - wet operation engineering.

This investment decision reflects Mingcheng Group's optimistic attitude towards the prospects of the cryptocurrency market. Although Bitcoin’s price fluctuates greatly, as a global digital asset, it is attracting more and more institutional investors. Mingcheng Group's continued increase in positions may indicate its recognition of the long-term value of Bitcoin.

Longling Capital: Active Layouter for ETH

In the cryptocurrency market, Longling Capital's movements are equally eye-catching. According to Lookonchain monitoring, Longling Capital withdraws 10,001 ETH from Binance on March 11, worth approximately $19.16 million. Since December 19, 2024, the address has built a total of 44,002 ETHs at an average price of US$2,563, with a total value of approximately US$112 million.

It is worth mentioning that Longling Capital has previously made a profit of US$33.67 million by "buy low and sell high" ETH, but currently has a floating loss of US$28.78 million. Despite this, it still chose to increase its position in ETH when the market plummeted, showing confidence in the long-term value of ETH. This behavior may be based on optimism about the application prospects of ETH in fields such as decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFT).

However, the risks cannot be ignored. Currently, Longling Capital has a health rate of 1.82 on Aave and a liquidation price of $1,048. If the ETH price falls below this level, the ETH it has collateral may face liquidation risks. But Longling Capital seems willing to take this risk and continues to bet on the future of ETH.

Bitcoin vs. U.S. Stocks: Differences in rebounds

In yesterday's market rebound, both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite Index received negative lines, showing a decline in closing performance, while Bitcoin (BTC) achieved a 5.5% rebound. This difference has sparked attention to cryptocurrencies and traditional stock market dynamics. So, why is Bitcoin able to rise against the trend while US stocks perform weakly in the same market environment? BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes posted on social media to explain:

• Bitcoin (BTC): Globalized 24/7 market, transactions are not restricted and cannot be issued additional issuances. Failure means bankruptcy or liquidation, and no national finance depends on its rise;
• Stock market: Trading only at a specific time, with limited participants. Although stocks cannot be issued additionally, if they fail and have a political background, they may be rescued. U.S. fiscal revenue is directly related to stock market performance, so the stock market often receives policy support during crisis.

Hayes believes that Bitcoin is a real free market, and the stock market is subject to policy intervention. Therefore, in the event of a fiat liquidity crisis, Bitcoin prices tend to lead the stock market to fall and also lead the stock market to rebound. This view provides a new perspective for understanding the differences between cryptocurrencies and traditional financial markets.

Conclusion

Yesterday's market plunge undoubtedly brought huge challenges to investors. However, as Ark Invest, Mingcheng Group and Longling Capital show, opportunities often lie in crises. These institutions chose “buy the dip” when the market was down, reflecting their firm belief in the long-term value of tech stocks and cryptocurrencies.

In the future, the market trend will still be full of uncertainty. Investors should carefully evaluate their own risk tolerance and pay close attention to market trends when following the footsteps of these institutions. In the waves of the financial market, only investors who have insight into the opportunities and seize the opportunity can usher in their own harvest after the storm.