It says a lot about the consistently bullish outlook of Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood that she predicted Bitcoin to reach $1.2 million by 2030, and in fact, that was a downgrade.
This feature is a part of CoinDesk Most Influential 2025 List.
Cathie Wood raised her forecast for the price of BTC in November 2025, lowering the target to just under $1.5 million based on the explosive growth of stablecoins, which she claimed could usurp some of Bitcoin’s value as a transaction tool.
However, his impact on cryptocurrencies goes far beyond his infamous bullish predictions. Ark’s Spot Bitcoin ETF, which it has listed in partnership with 21Shares, is the third-largest such product in the US, behind runaway market leaders offered by asset management giants BlackRock and Fidelity.
Wood’s optimistic outlook for the cryptocurrency industry is evident in the holdings of some of Ark’s largest ETFs. The firm’s $8.4 billion Innovation ETF counts crypto exchange Coinbase among its largest holdings, as do Ark’s two other largest ETFs by net assets.
The initial public offering (IPO) of stablecoin issuer Circle and crypto exchange Bullish (CoinDesk’s parent company) in 2025 also prompted a massive investment by Ark.
Through its ETFs, Arch and, by extension, Wood, who also plays the role of chief investment officer (CIO), may represent a North Star for understanding which disruptive technologies are likely to provide the most attractive high-growth plays.