Cathie Wood Makes A Forecast That Mirrors Balaji Srinivasan: Crypto 'Will Become An Election-Year Issue'

by Mehab Qureshi Benzinga Staff Writer

Zinger Key Points

Wood echoed Srinivasan's prediction that crypto will have a influence in the US Presidential elections in 2024.
Wood lamented the negative impact that regulatory uncertainty in the US is having on crypto innovation.
Srinivasan had compared Bitcoin’s potential impact on the election to that of Twitter and Facebook.

Cathie Wood, the CEO and founder of Ark Investment Management has echoed former Coinbase CEO Balaji Srinivasan's observation that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin BTC/USD will hold a significant influence in the United States Presidential elections in 2024.

What Happened: Wood was responding to a tweet by Ark Invest Director of Research Frank Downing.

According to the tweet, Decentralized exchanges' volumes now stand at around $63.7 billion, which is roughly equivalent to USD-supporting exchanges' $66.5 billion. The evidence suggests more significant activity is moving on-chain and offshore.

Because of regulatory uncertainty, innovation seems to be leaving the US for more friendly regimes. Unfortunate. I believe it will become an election-year issue. https://t.co/PvqK9W27Fd
— Cathie Wood (@CathieDWood) June 4, 2023

Wood lamented the negative impact that regulatory uncertainty in the US is having on crypto innovation within the country. She noted that because of the lack of regulatory clarity, crypto innovation appears to be shifting towards more friendly regimes overseas, a development that she finds unfortunate.

Given her concerns, she also predicted that cryptocurrency regulation could become a contentious election-year issue in the country.

See More: A Stay At The Floating Palace From James Bond’s 'Octopussy'

Why It Matters: Srinivasan, a well-known Bitcoin maximalist on May 23 compared Bitcoin’s potential impact on the election to that of Twitter and Facebook on the previous campaigns.

The prediction follows the belief that the United States is currently on the brink of sovereign default and has an impending fiat crisis on the horizon.

"If 2016 was the first Twitter election, 2024 may be the first Bitcoin election," he said.

He highlighted that social media, particularly Facebook, played a crucial role in Barack Obama’s successful campaign in 2012, a trend that he believes Bitcoin may follow.

Srinivasan also expressed concerns about an impending bubble burst in the US economy before next year’s elections. In such a scenario, he predicts that the prospect of a new Executive Order 6102 could emerge as a primary political issue.

Executive Order 6102 was implemented by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 to restrict the hoarding of gold coins, gold bullion, and gold certificates within the continental United States. The order enforced U.S. citizens to surrender such assets to the government.