- 21Shares US LLC notified ARK Investment Management on October 16, 2026 that it is terminating the Support Services Agreement covering ARK’s sub-advisory and marketing role on the ARKB bitcoin ETF
- The termination becomes effective December 22, 2026, ending one of the original co-branded spot bitcoin ETFs that launched in the United States in 2024
- On December 15, 2026, the sponsor intends to rename the trust the “21Shares Bitcoin ETF” and change its Cboe BZX ticker from ARKB to TBIT
21Shares US LLC disclosed in an 8-K filed October 22, 2026 that it is ending its Support Services Agreement with ARK Investment Management LLC, the agreement under which ARK had provided sub-advisory and marketing services for the ARKB spot bitcoin ETF. The sponsor gave formal notice of termination on October 16, 2026, under the terms the original agreement laid out for ending the arrangement.
The termination is scheduled to take effect on December 22, 2026, severing a partnership that had existed since ARKB, one of the first wave of US spot bitcoin ETFs, launched in January 2024 under the co-branded ARK 21Shares name. Until now, ARK had played a visible marketing and advisory role alongside 21Shares as the fund’s actual sponsor, helping give the product broader name recognition tied to ARK’s existing reputation in actively managed growth and innovation-focused funds.
As part of unwinding that arrangement, 21Shares disclosed plans to formally rename the trust the “21Shares Bitcoin ETF” on December 15, 2026, dropping the ARK name from the fund entirely. At the same time, the fund’s ticker on the Cboe BZX Exchange will change from ARKB to TBIT, a new symbol that carries no reference to either ARK or 21Shares’ prior branding convention for the product. The filing noted these changes are intended, rather than already finalized, meaning the specific rebranding steps could still shift before the December 15 target date.
The filing was made under Item 1.02, the section of an 8-K used to disclose the termination of a material definitive agreement, and was signed by Duncan Moir, President of 21Shares US LLC. Beyond confirming the termination and the planned renaming, the filing did not elaborate on the specific reasons behind the decision to end ARK’s sub-advisory role, nor did it address how the fund’s underlying investment strategy, holding bitcoin directly, would change as a result of the transition away from the co-branded arrangement.
The move is notable within the spot bitcoin ETF category because it unwinds one of the more prominent brand partnerships from the category’s earliest days, at a time when competition among issuers for assets and visibility within the now-crowded spot bitcoin ETF market has continued to intensify. The 8-K, filed with the SEC, did not disclose the fund’s current assets under management or whether any other changes to its fee structure or operations are planned alongside the rebranding.
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