Donald Trump

Jerome Powell

Bitcoin

Bitcoin recorded a historic milestone by smashing the $100,000 price mark on Dec. 5, but the cryptocurrency is still in the “early innings,” according to the ARK Invest CEO.
<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/people/top-people-in-crypto-and-blockchain-2023/cathie-wood/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Cathie Wood</a>, founder and CEO of the crypto-friendly investment firm ARK, said the future of Bitcoin (<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">BTC</a>) is bright even after <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-price-hits-100-000-first-time-new-all-time-high" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">BTC broke through $100,000</a>.
Wood took to X on Dec. 5 to <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/CathieDWood/status/1864526798056235407" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">congratulate</a> the industry on United States President-elect Donald Trump nominating pro-crypto <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/trump-nominates-paul-atkins-replace-gensler-sec-chair" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Paul Atkins to replace Gary Gensler</a> as the new chief of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
She also mentioned that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell had described <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-competes-with-gold-us-dollar-says-fed-jerome-powell" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Bitcoin as a digital version of gold</a>.
<h2 id="bitcoin-is-a-much-bigger-idea-than-gold">“Bitcoin is a much bigger idea than gold”</h2>
Wood compared the Bitcoin market with spot gold, highlighting that gold is a $15 trillion market at the price of $2,700 per ounce. Bitcoin, <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/bitcoin" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">priced</a> at $102,750 at the time of writing, has a market value of about $2 trillion, which leaves it with significant potential to grow.
<figure>
 <img alt="Gold, Bitcoin Price, SEC, Predictions, Policy" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-12/01939660-7665-7137-b235-3c38b9d1d0ed" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Top 10 assets by market capitalization. Source: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://companiesmarketcap.com/assets-by-market-cap/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="https://companiesmarketcap.com/assets-by-market-cap/">CompaniesMarketCap</a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
In the context of Powell’s reference to Bitcoin as “digital gold,” Wood hinted that the concept of Bitcoin is bigger than gold, given its digital and borderless nature. She said:
<blockquote>
 “Indeed, ARK Invest believes that Bitcoin is a much bigger idea than gold.”
</blockquote>
In March, Wood predicted that Bitcoin was well set to <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-bull-cathie-wood-ark-invest-btc-price-target-1m" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">break a $1 million milestone</a> by 2030.
<h2 id="bitcoin-reached-a-2-trillion-market-cap-in-less-than-16-years">Bitcoin reached a $2 trillion market cap in less than 16 years</h2>
While Amazon took 29 years to <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2024/06/26/amazon-is-a-2-trillion-company-for-first-time-ever/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">reach</a> a $2 trillion market value, Bitcoin made it in less than 16 years since the <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/learn/articles/the-history-of-bitcoin-when-did-bitcoin-start" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">first BTC transaction occurred</a> in January 2009.
Apple, the second-largest market after gold, <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/19/apple-reaches-2-trillion-market-cap.html" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">took</a> almost 42 years to reach a $2 trillion market capitalization for the first time in 2020.
At its current price, Bitcoin accounts for 52.6% of the entire crypto market, with the total market cap standing at $3.9 trillion, according to CoinGecko.
Related: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/mt-gox-moves-30k-bitcoin-after-hits-100k" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Mt. Gox moves $2.4B in Bitcoin just after BTC surges past $100K</a>
<figure>
 <img alt="Gold, Bitcoin Price, SEC, Predictions, Policy" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-12/0193965f-a4ce-773e-a4a8-8b199a59129c" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Bitcoin (BTC) market capitalization chart since 2014. Source: CoinGecko
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Bitcoin’s breakthrough to $100,000 and emergence as a $2 trillion asset is a significant financial milestone for the cryptocurrency market, but it’s not a surprise, according to Tranchess co-founder Danny Chong.
“The proliferation of financial institutions such as BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale and others, coupled with Bitcoin ETFs being on the market in 2024, has set up the industry for this moment,” Chong said, adding:
<blockquote>
 “This price point isn’t just a number — it’s a testament to Bitcoin’s growing legitimacy and mainstream acceptance.”
</blockquote>
Magazine: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/bitcoin-dominance-crypto-predictions-bull-run-benjamin-cowen-hall-of-flame/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Bitcoin dominance will fall in 2025: Benjamin Cowen, X Hall of Flame</a>

Bitcoin ‘still in early innings’ at $100K — ARK’s Cathie Wood

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