Cathie Wood trims bitcoin bull case by $300,000 as stablecoins ‘usurp’ part of its key use case
Quick Take Wood said stablecoins’ rapid adoption in emerging markets is redefining crypto’s monetary hierarchy, creating a two-tier system between digital dollars and digital gold. Her comments come as institutions recalibrate bitcoin forecasts, with Galaxy turning cautious and JPMorgan projecting renewed upside toward $170,000.
ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood said Thursday that stablecoins have overtaken part of the role her firm once expected bitcoin to play, trimming roughly $300,000 from her prior long-term bull case for the cryptocurrency.
Speaking with CNBC "Squawk Box" hosts Andrew Ross Sorkin and Joe Kernen, Wood said stablecoins are scaling faster than expected, particularly across emerging markets where they now serve as digital dollars for payments and savings — functions she previously thought bitcoin would fulfill.
"Stablecoins are usurping part of the role that we thought bitcoin would play," Wood said . "Given what's happening to stablecoins … we could take maybe $300,000 off of that bullish case."
Wood's remarks referenced ARK's earlier $1.5 million 2030 bull-case forecast, although the firm had raised that estimate to $2.4 million in April, based on a more aggressive modeling framework. That report also set targets of $1.2 million and $500,000 for its base and bear cases, respectively.
Wood emphasized that bitcoin remains "digital gold" and a foundational element of a new global monetary system, contrasting it with dollar-pegged stablecoins that represent cash rather than a self-contained asset. She added that institutions are only beginning to participate, calling bitcoin "a technology, a global monetary system, and a new asset class all wrapped in one."
While Wood's long-term view remains strongly bullish, her comments reflect how the rapid rise of Tether’s USDT and Circle's USDC, now comprising nearly $260 billion in combined supply, according to The Block’s data dashboard , is reshaping parts of the digital-asset landscape she once expected bitcoin to dominate.
Competing forecasts
Wood’s tempered remarks come as other major institutions reassess their own bitcoin outlooks.
Galaxy Digital cut its year-end target to $120,000 on Wednesday, citing whale selling and investor rotation into AI and gold, while JPMorgan analysts told The Block that BTC prices could climb toward $170,000 within the next six to 12 months as leverage resets in futures markets.
Bitcoin is trading at about $102,300 at publication time, down nearly 19% since it reached an all-time high of over $126,000 in early October, according to The Block's price page .
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
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