Ark Invest’s CEO Cathie Wood predicts President Donald Trump will start buying Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) for the strategic reserve before the 2026 midterms to maintain political momentum and crypto voter support.
Trump Doesn’t Want To Be A Lame Duck
In an interview published on Thursday, Wood identified three key motivations driving Trump toward strategic reserve purchases.
First, he wants to avoid becoming a lame duck president in his final two years. Presidents who lose midterms typically lose their ability to pass legislation and advance their agenda.
Second, Trump’s family has significant investments in Bitcoin and crypto assets.
Several digital asset investment vehicles performed poorly in 2025, creating pressure to support the market through government action.
Third, the crypto community played a decisive role in Trump’s 2024 election victory.
Maintaining that support requires delivering on promises, including building a strategic Bitcoin reserve and passing the de minimis tax exemption that allows small Bitcoin transactions without capital gains taxes.
Wood expects Trump to work with his crypto and AI czar to push both initiatives forward.
The original plan called for owning 1 million Bitcoin, but the current reserve only holds seized assets from criminal cases.
GDP Growth Creates Budget Space For Purchases
The administration faces one major constraint: White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks has said Bitcoin purchases must be budget neutral, meaning they can’t increase the deficit.
Wood believes the administration will find workarounds through stronger-than-expected economic growth.
The One Big Beautiful Bill dropped the effective U.S. corporate tax rate to 10%—the lowest in the developed world. The bill also includes 100% first-year depreciation for manufacturing facilities that break ground by the end of 2028.
These tax changes should drive significant GDP growth, which increases tax revenue and creates fiscal space for Bitcoin purchases without technically violating budget neutrality.
Wood expects the administration to use this flexibility to justify strategic reserve buying.
U.S. Buying Could Trigger Global Race
Wood said U.S. government buying would force other countries to reconsider their reserve strategies, potentially triggering the sovereign adoption wave Ark has anticipated for years.
The move would signal that nations no longer need to remain entirely dependent on the dollar.
This shift could create turbulence for emerging market currencies as governments reallocate reserves.
She believes the global monetary system will ultimately consolidate around two currencies: the dollar (supported by stablecoins) and Bitcoin.
Wood Still Optimistic Despite 2025 Volatility
The key question is whether the four-year cycle still applies and if $80,000 was the low.
Wood said getting through this cycle with a 30%+ drop instead of 50-70% would be a victory and consistent with Bitcoin’s declining volatility over time.
Lower volatility makes Bitcoin more attractive to institutional allocators and government treasuries.
Wood also noted that stablecoins have taken over some payment use cases Ark originally expected Bitcoin to fill, particularly in emerging markets.
However, gold’s strong 2025 performance reinforces Bitcoin’s role as digital gold and more than compensates for the stablecoin competition.
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