According to Cathie Wood, Ark Invest,’s long-term outlook is getting better.
The CEO and chief investment officer of the explosively popular active management firm told CNBC this week that the catalyst for the cryptocurrency is expanding as it reaches unprecedented new highs.
“I think the likelihood of an ETF has increased,” Wood said Wednesday in a comprehensive interview with CNBC’s “ETF Edge.”
While Gary Gensler – a longtime financier who taught a class for digital currency at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – has been named to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, the watchdog could become crypto hot during the Biden administration.
“I think there are now individuals involved who really understand the space and I think the probability has increased” for a US ETF in bitcoin.
Purpose Investments received approval this week for the first physically supported bitcoin ETF in Canada. The fund began trading on Thursday.
Now that U.S. companies, including Ark Invest’s favorite Tesla, are adding bitcoin to their balance sheets, Wood’s potential for profit has grown exponentially.
“We expected institutional interest to increase this year, and it certainly did, but the way it was taken up surprised us,” she said. “I don’t think we ever thought there would be a broad replacement of bitcoin for cash on corporate balance sheets, so we find that very interesting.”
Tesla unveiled a $ 1.5 billion bet on bitcoin earlier this month through SEC filing. Several other major players in the US market, including BlackRock, Mastercard and Square, have also announced their move into space.
“If all companies in the United States were to put 10% of their cash into bitcoin, that alone would add $ 200,000 to the bitcoin price,” Wood said. “Now, of course, we do not believe that this will happen very quickly. We may be talking about the equivalent of [a] $ 900 billion market capitalization. ‘
Bitcoin’s market value cracked $ 1 trillion on Friday, according to digital news currency Coindesk.
“It needs to get a little ripe before broad adoption can take place, but we are very reassured that companies like Square and Tesla have chosen to award,” Wood said Wednesday.
See Som Seif’s, CEO of Purpose Investments Founder ETF Edge interview about its just launched bitcoin ETF here.