ARK Invest chief executive Cathie Wood believes exchange-traded funds will remain a mainstay for mainstream investors, no matter how quickly self-custody wallets gain traction.
“I think ETFs are an important stepping stone because, you know, wallets seem so complicated, so much friction for consumers, they just wanna push a button,” she told ETF analyst Eric Balchunas at the Solana Accelerate conference in New York on May 23.
“So ETFs for those who want the convenience, I don’t think, will lose a lot of their luster.”
Wallets still offer vital protection, Wood argues
While praising the ease of a ticker-based purchase, Wood stressed that personal wallets provide an extra buffer against failures in traditional finance.
“These are insurance policies against something going wrong in the traditional world,” she said.
Bitbo estimates roughly 200 million active Bitcoin wallets exist worldwide, a number Wood expects to grow as onboarding improves.
ETF inflows keep mounting after record-setting price action
The week ending May 23 saw about $2.75 billion flow into U-S spot Bitcoin ETFs, coinciding with BTC’s new peak above $111,900.
Since their January 2024 debut, the products have attracted roughly $44.5 billion, according to Farside Investors.
Spot Ether ETFs, launched in July 2024, have accumulated about $2.77 billion despite the S E C’s refusal to permit staking rewards.
Wood called that restriction a key reason Ether funds were “less successful than people were expecting.”
Ether still the gateway to smart-contract ecosystems
Even so, the ARK Invest founder views Ether as the logical first step for investors exploring smart-contract platforms.
“So they might start in the smart contract world with Ether, but once they study the technology, and follow the developers, and see the uptake by consumers, I think they will get there,” she said, referring to interest in alternatives such as Solana.
Wood acknowledged that President Donald Trump’s January launch of the “Official Trump” memecoin on Solana may have unnerved some institutions.
“I think they might be a little turned off by what happened with the Trump memecoin,” she conceded, noting the token’s 50 percent plunge days after release.
Long-term targets and the road ahead
ARK in April raised its “bull case” Bitcoin price target to $2.4 million by 2030, citing growing institutional demand and BTC’s status as “digital gold.”
Wood said she is still finalizing a comparable forecast for Solana.
For now, her message is clear: convenience products such as ETFs will coexist with, not replace, self-custody solutions as the crypto market matures.
