Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood was a guest on Merryn Somerset Webb’s show ‘Merryn Talks Money’, where she discussed the macro environment and the recent happenings in the financial world. What will mainly interest the crypto community is what she had to say about the flagship cryptocurrency, Bitcoin. 

“Bitcoin Hands Down”

When quizzed by Merryn about which she would prefer to hold for 10 years between gold, cash, and Bitcoin, Wood replied by saying, “Bitcoin hands down.” She noted that while Bitcoin and Gold both have hedging functionalities, the latter already had its time, unlike Bitcoin, which she labeled as “new” and was just gaining steam. 

While highlighting Bitcoin’s future potential and “incremental demand,” she stated that institutions were still barely involved and that the major investors of the future (the “young people,” as Wood put it) would prefer to hold Bitcoin over Gold. She also mentioned that Bitcoin has been outperforming Gold recently in terms of its hedging capabilities.  

Wood’s bullishness on the foremost cryptocurrency may not come as a surprise to many, considering that her company, ARK Invest, is one of many asset managers who have applied with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to offer a Spot Bitcoin ETF. 

Interestingly, her company leads the race toward approval as the SEC is expected to make a decision (possibly approve) on their application in January 2024, with decisions on the other applications to come after. However, it remains to be seen if that is what will happen, as the SEC can choose to approve (if it does) all funds at the same time. 

Cathie Wood Recognizes Bitcoin’s Importance

Earlier in the interview, Wood highlighted the price of Bitcoin as one of the things her company was monitoring in relation to the financial markets and deciding on how to gauge the inflation rate. 

She alluded to how Bitcoin’s price rose from $19,000 to $30,000 during the regional banking crisis that occurred back in March with a couple of banks like Silicon Valley Bank collapsing. 

She described Bitcoin’s rise during that period as “fascinating” and how many saw the cryptocurrency as a “flight to safety vehicle.” While many have in the past touted Bitcoin as a hedge against Inflation, Cathie Wood believes it can go both ways as the cryptocurrency can also serve as a hedge against deflation because there is no counterparty risk in Bitcoin. 

She seemed to suggest that Bitcoin was a haven for many, especially with the banking crisis, because it was completely “transparent and decentralized,” unlike banks where customers do not know anything about what goes in there and how their deposits are being used or safeguarded. 

BTC trading in a tight range | Source: BTCUSD on Tradingview.com

Featured image from Cryptoknowmics, chart from Tradingview.com