Cathie Wood, founder and CEO of ARK Invest, says a surprisingly simple U.S. policy shift could accelerate Bitcoin’s scarcity story — and she laid out why during a recent interview at Bitcoin Brainstorm. Bitcoin has faced price pressure recently amid thin trading volumes, but Wood argues the next big catalyst could come from an unlikely source: the U.S. government. If the U.S. were to actively buy Bitcoin for reserves — not merely add seized coins — those purchases would remove supply from the market and could “reassert” Bitcoin’s scarcity value, she says. That argument gains urgency as the network approaches roughly 20 million coins in circulation, with only about one million BTC left before the 21 million cap. Wood also revisited a theme from ARK’s earlier research: stablecoins have taken on some of the use-cases many expected Bitcoin to fill — especially as a store of value and protection for people in emerging markets facing inflation, capital controls, or asset seizure. “Stablecoins are usurping a role that we thought Bitcoin would play,” she noted. But she added an important counterpoint: the recent surge in gold prices has strengthened Bitcoin’s narrative as “digital gold,” a role that could outweigh stablecoins’ encroachment. In short, Wood remains optimistic. She suggested that U.S. strategic buying could ignite the scarcity dynamics investors are waiting for and help push Bitcoin’s value higher as the supply ceiling looms closer. Her comments come amid broader market chatter about whether current pullbacks are modest corrections or the start of deeper declines — Wood has suggested that a ~30% dip, versus historical 50%–70% crashes, would be a relatively healthy outcome. Takeaway: Beyond retail demand and macro flows, government demand — even passive reserve accumulation — could materially tighten available supply and reshape Bitcoin’s scarcity narrative, according to one of crypto’s most prominent institutional bulls. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

#BTC