Cathie Wood credits crypto deregulation for ‘unleashing animal spirits’

ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood has provided insights into how Donald Trump’s return to the White House could change the cryptocurrency landscape.

Woods has pointed to early signals of a crypto-friendly administration through recent appointments and market developments. Speaking on Bloomberg’s ETF IQ, Wood highlighted Trump’s pre-inauguration involvement with meme coins (which have since crashed ) as an indicator of his commitment to cryptocurrency.

She also praised the appointment of Paul Atkins as SEC commissioner, describing him as “pro-crypto,” and anticipates digital asset regulation — or deregulation — under his leadership.

Addressing the emergence of Trump-themed meme coins, such as Official Trump ( TRUMP ), Wood drew parallels to the 2017 ICO movement. She suggested that while these tokens might lack immediate utility, they serve to introduce cryptocurrency to new audiences.

For the full clip, see below.

“The ICO movement in 2017 really brought this new technology to a whole new group of people,” Wood explained. She compared it to the early days of internet adoption, when widespread investment in infrastructure ultimately led to technological advancement.

When discussing specific crypto investments, Wood emphasized ARK’s focus on “the big three” — Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana — rather than meme coins. She highlighted ARK’s ARKB as one of the larger spot Bitcoin ETFs, while maintaining exposure to Ethereum and Solana through private funds.

Wood expressed optimism about Trump’s economic agenda, explaining how the new administration is changing “fear into optimism” and that deregulation is “unleashing animal spirits.”

ARK’s investment strategies have begun showing positive momentum as risk appetite increases, she says. However, Wood emphasized that their fundamental approach to investing in innovation remains unchanged.

The discussion showed Wood’s view that the mix of political support, regulatory clarity, and market changes under the Trump administration could accelerate cryptocurrency adoption.