ARK’s Cathie Wood Predicts Spot Bitcoin by January

The CEO of ARK Invest sees regulatory approval before a looming Jan. 10 deadline.

Famed investor Cathie Wood is predicting a spot bitcoin ETF ahead of a looming January deadline and believes the aftermath could drive the price of the cryptocurrency toward record highs. 

The chief executive of ARK Invest also made a bold prediction about the future of cryptocurrencies post-approval, calling a bull case for bitcoin to reach a price range of $1 million to $1.5 million by 2030—up from the current price of $36,000.  

A major milestone would be the approval of a so-called "spotcoin" by the Securities Exchange Commission, which has until Jan. 10 to make its decision, and which has already fielded questions from potential issuers.  

“We're the first in line from that point of view,” Wood said during an interview with etf.com at a press event in New York on Tuesday. “Again, given the sophistication of the questions [from the SEC], I think we're getting close.” 

The company refiled its bitcoin ETF application with the agency last month, this time with roughly five pages of updates, including additional risk disclosures and a section on the environmental impact of bitcoin’s electricity usage. 

“We’re really at the end now,” she said. 

ARK announced a partnership with 21Shares, the issuer of the world's largest line of cryptocurrency-backed exchange-traded products, to launch a group of five actively managed bitcoin and ethereum futures ETFs. The launch marks the first combined U.S. products for the issuers. 

While there has been “anticipatory buying” as word has gotten out about the potential of a bitcoin ETF, Wood sees an approval as a catalyst to additional gains. Other factors, like lingering fears from the regional banking crisis, have helped push the price of bitcoin higher in recent months, she said. 

Cathie Wood and the Battle Over a Bitcoin ETF 

If the SEC approves a spot bitcoin ETF in January as Wood predicts, the agency is likely to approve multiple products simultaneously. That means the likes of ARK Invest will be vying for market share with some of the largest financial-services firms in the world.  

“It's a marketing game from there, although some people would call it a war,” Wood said.  

The initial battles could get played out during the country’s biggest sporting event in February where television ads will almost certainly air during the Super Bowl, she said. “I'll put ARK’s David marketing team out there against any of the Goliaths.”  

Those teams at Ark and 21Shares have been planning for approval for the past six months, she said.  

“I'm sure they'll use all their firepower and so will we.”