Why Cathie Wood Thinks Trump Will Shift to Active Buying for US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve?

ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood, a prominent Bitcoin advocate, has made a bold prediction that US President Donald Trump will begin buying BTC for the US strategic reserve. She claims Trump doesn’t want to be a “lame duck” in the 2026 mid-term elections, and buying BTC for the US strategic reserve could help secure another productive term.

Cathie Wood Expects Trump to Buy Bitcoin for Strategic Reserve in 2026

In a “Bitcoin Brainstorm” podcast, ARK Invest founder Cathie Wood predicted the US government to begin purchasing Bitcoin in 2026 to meet its original goal for holding 1 million BTC in the national strategic reserve. assets.

She cited political and personal reasons behind President Donald Trump’s likely shift from seized assets to active purchasing of Bitcoin ahead of the midterm elections.

“It seems as though there’s been reticence about actually buying Bitcoin for the strategic reserve. So far, it’s confiscated. The original intent was to own a million Bitcoin. So I actually think they will start buying.”

Cathie Wood highlighted that the Trump family is all in on Bitcoin and other crypto assets, with a growing stake in the crypto industry. She also argued about debt due to the crypto market crash. “So I think he’s got all kinds of reasons to do this,” Wood added.

However, Cathie Wood believes the most important reason is “he doesn’t want to be a lame duck.” She asserted that Trump wants to have another one or two productive years and he sees crypto as a path to the future.

The Trump administration will also look to seize Venezuela’s BTC holdings. These Bitcoin could be frozen as forfeited assets or added to a U.S. strategic reserve.

Crypto Influence in US Elections

Crypto industry participation had a major influence during the last U.S. elections. Outside of political action committees like Stand With Crypto, which donated to Trump and Republican campaigns, several high-profile executives, including Cathie Wood, endorsed and donated to Trump.

The White House has hosted crypto-related events. Coinbase, Tether, and Ripple are among the firms funding the new White House ballroom. Notably, Trump has signed two executive orders to establish crypto stockpiles and form a working group chaired by AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks.

The Trump administration has worked closely with the crypto industry to push for legislation, such as the GENIUS Act for stablecoin rules. It also includes making the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulate the spot crypto market and the SEC’s work on ETF approvals and tokenization. This has prompted financial giants such as Morgan Stanley to file for Bitcoin ETF.

In addition to the strategic importance of buying BTC for the strategic Bitcoin reserve, Cathie Wood said the Trump administration will “make sure to get that a de minimis ruling through.” It would eliminate capital gains taxes on small crypto transactions.

At press time, BTC price is trading at $90,468. Cathie Wood reiterated Bitcoin price prediction of $1 million by 2030.