Ark 21Shares Bitcoin ETF 8-K

What Happened

• ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (the Trust) and its Sponsor, 21Shares US LLC, announced they will terminate the Pricing Benchmark Licensing Agreement with CF Benchmarks Ltd., effective August 31, 2026. The Pricing Benchmark is the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate—New York Variant, which CF Benchmarks calculates and administers and which is used to value the Trust’s shares daily and to calculate the Trust’s net asset value (NAV).
• The Sponsor provided notice of termination on June 30, 2026 and intends to enter into a new licensing agreement with FTSE International Limited on or about August 24, 2026 to license FTSE index data for the Trust.

Key Details

• Termination notice date: June 30, 2026; termination effective: August 31, 2026.
• Current benchmark: CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate—New York Variant (administered by CF Benchmarks).
• New provider: FTSE International Limited; expected license start on or about August 24, 2026.
• Both the CF Benchmarks and FTSE licenses are described as non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sub-licensable, perpetual, worldwide licenses with one-year initial terms that automatically renew.

Why It Matters

• The Pricing Benchmark is used daily to value ARKB shares and to calculate the Trust’s NAV, so changing the benchmark provider is an operationally important move for investors to note.
• The Sponsor has scheduled the FTSE license to begin before the CF Benchmarks termination date, indicating an intended transition designed to avoid interruption in benchmark data or NAV calculation. The filing does not report any expected changes to fees, NAV methodology, or fund strategy.