Cathie Wood, the outspoken CEO of ARK Invest, ignited fresh debate in financial and policy circles this week by suggesting that the U.S. government could begin purchasing Bitcoin outright to stock a national strategic reserve.
Speaking on the Bitcoin Brainstorm podcast, Wood, one of the most prominent proponents of Bitcoin among mainstream investors, reiterated her belief that the federal government will eventually start actively buying Bitcoin to build out a reserve that, under previous executive direction, was envisioned to hold up to one million Bitcoins.
She commented, “It seems as though there has been reticence about actually buying Bitcoin for the strategy reserve. So far, it’s confiscated [bitcoins]. The original intent was to own 1 million bitcoins, so I actually think they will start buying.”
The idea of a U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve was made official in the first quarter of 2025 through an executive order signed by President Donald Trump. Among the U.S. Treasury’s holdings are roughly 198,000 BTC from criminal seizures, making it one of the largest publicly held crypto assets ever held by a government. Yet no market purchases have taken place in the meantime; the existing holdings are exclusively of assets seized in law enforcement action. Wood’s comments seem to signal that these holdings are only a beginning.
Wood believes Trump sees digital assets as a path forward
The ARK Invest executive insisted that President Trump is unlikely to ease off on crypto in 2026 as he nears the midpoint of his second term. She explained that Trump is likely to back crypto given his family’s increasing financial exposure to the sector. She also claimed the crypto community played a role in his election victory, adding, “The most important one is that he doesn’t want to be a lame duck. He wants to have another one or two productive years, and I think he sees crypto as a path to the future.”
In the last US election, the crypto industry emerged as an important partisan force to reckon with. Besides campaign donations from political action committees like Stand With Crypto, several prominent executives, including Wood, backed Trump personally and contributed to his reelection. Even after Trump’s triumph, some industry players continued to pitch in to advise the administration.
Moreover, the White House has organised crypto events, receiving backing from Coinbase, Tether, and Ripple for the new ballroom. The president also signed two executive orders to create crypto reserves and formed a working group, led by Special Advisor David Sacks.
In July, the group led by Sacks even put forward several policy ideas, including expanding the CFTC’s authority over spot trading in non-security digital assets. Back then, it was also noted that the Treasury Department would oversee both the Bitcoin reserve and the crypto stockpile, relying exclusively on forfeited digital assets. However, it also charged the Treasury and Commerce Departments to consider budget-neutral approaches to buying more BTC, but so far, none have been bought.
Valente believes new market players could mitigate crypto market volatility
Looking back at 2025, on the Bitcoin Brainstorm podcast, Wood and ARK’s Lorenzo Valente also noted that the crypto market experienced volatility and flash crashes. However, Valente added that new entrants are serious players whose long-term strategies could help stabilise the market.
Similarly, Wood also claimed that 2025 saw only modest institutional adoption, as she considered the likelihood of the four-year cycle and whether $88,000 represented the cycle’s low point. She remarked, “If we can get by this year, this cycle, with a 30-plus per cent drop [in Bitcoin] instead of a 50, 60, 70% drop, that will be a victory.”
She also anticipates the Trump administration intends to secure a de minimis exemption, meaning small crypto trades would not be subject to capital gains tax. Florida, Texas, and other U.S. states are already working on legislation to create crypto reserves.
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