Cathie Wood, the founder of Ark Invest, recently conducted an interview with CNBC. In the interview, she expressed optimism about the approval of the ARK 21Shares ETF in January. She also mentioned that the SEC has concerns about the risks associated with physical redemptions and believes that Bitcoin will be used as legal tender by more countries and partially replace gold within the next five years.
Cathie Wood: SEC’s “knowledge content” has been optimized
When asked about the progress of the ARK 21Shares ETF, Cathie Wood stated that after multiple rejections and discussions, the SEC’s depth of knowledge and understanding of the issues have improved. Therefore, she believes that it is highly likely to obtain approval before January 10th of next year and hopes that it will pass by then.
SEC concerned about risks associated with physical redemptions
Cathie Wood revealed that it is true, as reported by the media, that the Ark and 21Shares Bitcoin spot ETF will be based on cash creation and redemption. She stated, “A few people within the SEC are concerned that physical creation will force traditional banks to deal with cryptocurrencies. We are not sure if this will happen. It is indeed a technical issue, but I hope this issue has been resolved.”
Institutions are the biggest contributors to the cryptocurrency market
Consistent with Ark’s argument, Cathie Wood emphasized that if institutions allocate 0.1% of their assets to Bitcoin, it can have a significant impact on the price. She noted that institutions often consider regulatory and tax issues, which may have been the reason they did not invest in Bitcoin before. If Ark’s idea is correct, the Bitcoin spot ETF will become the best way for institutions to access Bitcoin.
Bitcoin will be used as legal tender by more countries and partially replace gold within five years
Cathie Wood pointed out that Bitcoin will continue its performance next year. At the beginning of this year, Bitcoin achieved a 50% increase even in the midst of a banking crisis. This is because Bitcoin has no counterparty risk, is decentralized, and has transparent on-chain activity, allowing investors to track abnormal activities on the chain. She emphasized that Ark’s predictions are often long-term, spanning over five years, and they do believe that Bitcoin will replace physical gold for certain individuals. Furthermore, she believes that more countries will support Bitcoin, apart from El Salvador and Argentina, stating, “We are not surprised that an increasing number of emerging countries are considering Bitcoin as legal tender. It will be a very large market.”
(Note: The article contains images that were not translated.)