Cathie Wood, ARK Invest still anticipate $1.5M Bitcoin after US banking crisis
ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood has expressed that the company’s confidence in Bitcoin reaching a price of $1.5 million within the next decade has increased.
On Bloomberg TV on July 17, Wood commented that the aftermath of the regional banking crisis in March has made ARK’s “bull case” for Bitcoin increasingly likely.
According to Wood, the banking crisis resulted in investors flocking to Bitcoin, even amidst a general meltdown in the stock market. This “flight to safety” caused Bitcoin to rally to almost $30,000 from $19,000, which shows that the flagship crypto has become a viable safe-haven asset, much like gold.
Wood believes Bitcoin will continue to establish itself as an “insurance policy” and that “everyone will want it at the end of the day.”
Insurance against wealth confiscation
Wood argued that consumers would ultimately want Bitcoin to protect against unfair confiscation of wealth, which can happen directly via state intervention or indirectly through inflation. The supply of Bitcoin cannot be altered by central banks, making it an attractive way to store wealth and hedge against inflation, Wood argues.
Meanwhile, in a deflationary scenario, Bitcoin’s transparent nature serves as a hedge against counterparty risk, which was a leading factor behind the 2008 financial crisis.
Wood said:
“We won’t have an 08-09 with Bitcoin, everything is decentralized, no obfuscation.”
Thoughts on Coinbase, SEC, Ripple
Wood also shared her views on the SEC’s case against Coinbase and clarified that the case had nothing to do with ARK selling its holdings of the stock’s exchange.
She said the company is taking profits on its Coinbase bet after the stock recovered from the dive it took following the SEC action.
She elaborated that the value of Coinbase stock took a significant hit following when the lawsuit became public but did not fall to new lows and ARK continues hold a “very positive” stance toward the asset.
Wood also expressed her optimism about exchanges likely prevailing against SEC lawsuits, pointing to the recent court ruling in Ripple’s case against the SEC as a major factor.