Cathie Wood: More Tech Companies Will Adopt Bitcoin Treasury Reserves

Wood said large companies are asking her if they should follow Square's lead.

AccessTimeIconJan 25, 2021 at 10:22 p.m. UTC
Updated Sep 14, 2021 at 11:01 a.m. UTC

ARK Investment Management CEO Cathie Wood said she believes more companies will load their balance sheets up with bitcoin.

In a Saturday interview with Yahoo Finance, the exchange-traded fund (ETF) magnate and outspoken bitcoin advocate said large companies have asked her if they should follow Square's lead. Square is one of the few public companies to invest in bitcoin as an inflation hedging strategy.

"I think we're going to hear about more companies putting this hedge on their balance sheet," she said, "particularly tech companies who understand the technology and are comfortable with it."

Her prognosticatoions have yielded returns faster than ARK's upcoming Space ETF. On Monday, bitcoin miner Marathon Patent Group bought $150 million in bitcoin. The company is by its nature perhaps best-suited to understand the nuances of bitcoin and blockchain technology.

But the market-leading cryptocurrency's recent price swings have also highlighted the danger of inexperienced companies trying to bet on bitcoin treasuries.

One day before Wood's interview, virtual reality company NexTech AR dumped its 130 BTC treasury reserve, a "long-term" investment the Canadian company had disclosed in late December. Executives had gotten spooked by false media reporting on a so-called "double-spend" on the bitcoin blockchain.

DISCLOSURE

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk’s longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.