Cathie Wood says a US bitcoin-buying program could spark a market sea change Cathie Wood, founder and CEO of ARK Invest, told her Bitcoin Brainstorm podcast on Jan. 8 that the Trump administration could move beyond simply holding seized bitcoin and begin actively buying BTC to build a U.S. strategic reserve — a shift she believes could be a catalytic signal for markets and other governments. “We have seen very little institutional buy-in, it is just beginning,” Wood said. She argued that explicit U.S. purchases — not just confiscated holdings — could reawaken bitcoin’s scarcity narrative at a moment when supply dynamics are tightening. “Now that we’re near 20 million bitcoin outstanding and we only have one more million to go,” she added, buying into the view that a visible government buyer could accentuate scarcity-driven demand. Wood suggested the administration’s posture so far amounts mainly to retaining confiscated coins, contrasting that with what she said was an earlier, larger ambition: “The original intent was to own a million bitcoin.” She called a pivot to open-market purchases plausible, and tied the timing to politics. Midterm politics could push Washington to act Linking the idea to the 2026 midterms, Wood argued President Trump has incentives not to become a “lame duck” and therefore may want to maintain momentum on policy initiatives. “I have a feeling that he is going to work with his crypto and AI czar to do a few things,” she said, noting that so far, the government’s bitcoin holdings have largely been confiscated rather than purchased. Wood didn’t lay out a specific buying mechanism but underscored that any reserve build would likely need to be budget-neutral — a key gating constraint she believes policymakers would respect. A global ripple: reserves, currencies and volatility Wood also framed U.S. buying as a geopolitical and economic signal. If Washington openly started purchasing bitcoin for reserves, she said, other countries might revisit their reserve strategies and consider diversifying away from being “hostage to the dollar.” That, in turn, could pressure emerging-market currencies and reshape volatility in weaker fiat regimes, she warned. Her contention is that a visible U.S. reserve program could catalyze broader institutional adoption and prompt other capitals to take bitcoin seriously as a reserve asset — with knock-on effects for global FX dynamics. Market snapshot At the time of Wood’s comments, BTC was trading around $90,578. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

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