Wood Reveals Trump’s Digital Asset Vision: A Path Forward for Finance
Trump sees crypto as the future—and Wall Street's getting nervous.
According to Cathie Wood, the former president views digital assets as more than a speculative bet. He sees them as a strategic pathway—a way to reshape financial infrastructure, empower individual sovereignty, and potentially sidestep traditional gatekeepers. It's a vision that cuts straight to the core of monetary policy debates.
The Policy Play
This isn't just about campaign donations or political posturing. The perspective frames crypto as a legitimate tool for economic growth and technological leadership. Think less 'magic internet money' and more 'parallel financial rails'—a system that operates 24/7, bypasses legacy bottlenecks, and appeals to a new generation of voters and investors.
Market Mechanics & The Institutional Nod
When political heavyweights signal openness, institutions listen. Regulatory clarity—or even perceived friendliness—unlocks capital. It greenlights new ETFs, attracts corporate treasury allocations, and fuels developer innovation. The market doesn't just price in adoption; it prices in political tailwinds.
A Hedge Against the Old Guard
p>At its most provocative, this path forward represents a direct challenge to centralized financial control. It's a bet on decentralized networks over traditional intermediaries—a theme that resonates in an era of deep distrust in institutions. Of course, the irony is rich: seeking salvation from a centralized political figure to escape centralized finance. Only in modern portfolios.The bottom line? Political narratives are becoming crypto fundamentals. And if one side is carving a lane for digital assets as the path forward, the other will be forced to define its own—or get left watching from the legacy sidelines, clutching their spreadsheets and slowly depreciating bonds.
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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