Cathie Wood: Crypto ETFs Will Stay Strong Despite Wallet Rise

Cathie Wood: Crypto ETFs Will Stay Strong as Wallet Adoption Grows

ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood believes crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) will maintain their appeal even as crypto wallet adoption grows over the next decade. Speaking at the Solana Accelerate event in New York on May 23, Wood said, “ETFs are an important stepping stone because wallets seem so complicated, so much friction for consumers — they just wanna push a button.”

She explained that while wallets provide an extra layer of protection — calling them “insurance policies against something going wrong in the traditional world” — the convenience of ETFs will keep them relevant.

According to Bitbo data, there are about 200 million active Bitcoin wallets worldwide. Meanwhile, the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF market saw inflows of approximately $2.75 billion in the trading week ending May 23, coinciding with Bitcoin’s new all-time high of $111,970 on May 22. Since U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in January 2024, they have attracted about $44.49 billion, based on Farside data.

On the Ethereum side, spot Ether ETFs have seen $2.77 billion in inflows since launching in July 2024. Wood noted these ETFs have been “less successful than people were expecting,” largely because the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not allowed staking. The SEC recently delayed its decision on Bitwise’s staking proposal for its Ether ETF.

Cathie Wood spoke to ETF analyst Eric Balchunas at Solana Accelerate on May 23. Source: Solana

Despite this, Wood sees Ether as the gateway for investors exploring the smart contract space before branching out to other blockchains like Solana. “They might start in the smart contract world with Ether, but once they study the technology and follow the developers, they will get there,” she said.

Wood also commented on the skepticism around Solana following the launch of U.S. President Donald Trump’s memecoin, Official Trump (TRUMP), on the Solana network in January. The token dropped about 50% shortly after launch, leading some institutional investors — especially older ones — to hesitate.

ETF analyst Eric Balchunas pointed out that Bitcoin is “so easy” to explain to boomers as digital gold, whereas other cryptocurrencies are harder to explain. Wood acknowledged this challenge and said she is still finalizing her Solana price target, which will be shared once her research is complete.

In April, ARK Invest raised its Bitcoin bull-case price target from $1.5 million to $2.4 million by the end of 2030, driven by rising institutional interest and Bitcoin’s role as “digital gold.”