Ark Invest founder and CEO Cathie Wood says Bitcoin (BTC) is a much bigger idea than tech giants Apple and Amazon and its low correlation to any other asset makes it attractive to institutions.
In a Yahoo Finance interview, Wood explains how Bitcoin being a global decentralised currency makes it a much bigger idea than the world’s most recognised companies.
‘Bitcoin is roughly a $600 billion market cap, so not even half the size of Apple or Amazon,’ said Wood. ‘Put it into perspective, and yet it has a very big idea. I think a much bigger idea than Apple or Amazon.’
The Ark Invest CEO said Bitcoin’s decentralised nature helps it stand apart from any other digital currency or asset.
‘It’s the first global truly global digital currency out there, and it is completely decentralized. There’s no throat to choke… Unlike with Libra, you had Europe and the US and many countries saying we’ll never allow this,’ explained Wood.
Bitcoin’s Low Correlation Makes It Attractive To Institutions
Cathie Wood also notes that institutions are attracted to Bitcoin because of its low correlation to anything else.
Institutions look to diversify their investments to increase their returns and lower the risk. And Bitcoin’s historically low correlation is the perfect asset for them according to Wood.
‘Institutions look for that low correlation. Bitcoin has it. That’s clear. We have 10 years of history now,’ determines the Ark Invest CEO.
‘We have been expecting institutions to start moving into Bitcoin… because if you look at the correlation of Bitcoin’s performance relative to any other asset class, it has the lowest correlation, meaning if you buy some Bitcoin, you will further diversify your portfolio and increase your returns with lower risk.’
MicroStrategy and MassMutual Surprised The Ark Invest CEO
Cathie Wood offered MicroStrategy and MassMutual as prime examples of surprising moves into the Bitcoin market for different reasons.
The Ark Invest CEO was surprised by the magnitude of MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin play, and even questioned whether the regulatory authorities would look kindly on it.
‘What surprised me and us generally was to watch MicroStrategy, which has put all the cash on its balance sheet into Bitcoin and even did another equity offering so it could put more cash on its balance sheet,’ said Wood.
‘I think that’s a little crazy because I think the regulators will have something to say about this… Is this company the MicroStrategy technology company or is it like an ETF?’
Wood alluded to Square Inc. putting 1% of its assets into Bitcoin and said she expected more of that.
However, the Ark Invest CEO said she was most surprised by MassMutual’s move into the Bitcoin space, especially as they would have had more regulatory hurdles to jump through.
‘[MassMutual] put $100 million into its general account. Now, its general account is enormous. So $100 million is something like .001, but what that move told us is MassMutual is very conservative and very highly regulated, and so it had to jump through many more regulatory hurdles than I thought would have been possible by now, and so I think that it is a seal of approval.’
Bitcoin Is A Bigger Idea Than Everything
Bitcoin is a much bigger idea than Apple and Amazon says Cathie Wood, and of course she is right.
Wood and Ark Invest is heavily invested in Bitcoin and the digital asset space, so we might expect her to say that.
But Bitcoin isn’t just a bigger idea than Apple or Amazon, it’s a bigger idea than the US dollar, and even the global real estate market.
Of course the dollar is the global reserve currency, but we know due to several factors how that is failing. And the real estate market is the biggest industry in the world.
No doubt we will use the dollar and every other national fiat currency for many years to come, and people won’t stop buying property.
Among other features, however, the security, liquidity, and unmanipulability of Bitcoin makes it the perfect asset for everybody and every single institution.
And that makes Bitcoin a bigger idea than everything.
A Bitcoiner since 2017 and a Bitcoin Maximalist since 2018, Tommy is our main writer and editor at Bitcoin Maximalist. Other than researching and writing about Bitcoin, Tommy loves spending time with his family and supporting his beloved Leeds United.
