Cathie Wood Maintains $600,000 Bitcoin Forecast, Defends Coinbase Shares Purchase Amid SEC Battle

Ark Investment Management Founder and CEO Cathie Wood, known for her disruptive investment strategies, told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin Friday that her base case for Bitcoin BTC/USD is still $600,000 by 2030, and she's not betting against the government by purchasing more Coinbase Global Inc COIN shares, among other topics.

Coinbase, Government, And Checks & Balances: In the wake of the SEC's continued battle over the definition of "unregistered securities" via its lawsuit against Coinbase, Wood was asked if she is effectively betting against the government with her purchase of roughly $20 million in Coinbase shares earlier this week when the stock fell on news of the lawsuit.

"No, we’re actually betting on the checks and balances inherent in our government," Wood said. "The SEC and uncertainty around [cryptocurrencies] is chasing digital asset business away from this country. I think the legislative branch understands it, this will be an election year issue."

Read also: Binance’s Regulatory Woes Are Coinbase’s Gain, Says Cathie Wood

Is Tesla’s Charging Partnership A Boost for American Automakers? On Thursday, Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk and General Motors Co GM CEO Mary Barra hosted a Twitter Spaces announcing that GM is partnering with Tesla to use the EV maker's North American charging network and technologies.

This comes on the heels of Ford Motor Co's F similar partnership with Tesla, which will allow Ford EV owners to use Tesla's supercharging network.

"I think it’s great for America and our transition to the electric future, as Elon said, and I do think it increases the probability that our forecast of 60 million electric vehicle sales by 2027. It has increased the probability that that is right." 

Bitcoin To $1 Million? According to ARK’s forecasts, Bitcoin’s value could exceed $600,000, with a bull case of over $1 million by 2030. 

“This is the first global private, no government oversight, digital rule-based monetary system, and there’s a lot of discipline here,” Wood said.

Sorkin questioned Wood on Bitcoin’s current price relative to her past expectations, with Wood using the regional banking crisis as an example.

"If you all notice, the regional bank stocks were imploding and Bitcoin went from $19,000 up to roughly $30,000. So what was that? That was a flight to safety, a flight to safety, think about that. We think all of innovation is going to be a flight to safety." 

Read next: Cathie Wood’s ARK Loads Up $15M Worth Of This Bitcoin-Linked Stock Despite Crypto Jitters

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