Connect with us

Crypto

1 Unstoppable Cryptocurrency to Buy Before It Soars 1,660%, According to Cathie Wood's ARK Invest | The Motley Fool

Published

on

1 Unstoppable Cryptocurrency to Buy Before It Soars 1,660%, According to Cathie Wood's ARK Invest | The Motley Fool

Cathie Wood is one of the most vocal bulls on Wall Street when it comes to the potential of the technology sector. She founded ARK Investment Management, which operates several exchange-traded funds (ETFs) focused on investing exclusively in innovative technologies like cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and more.

In fact, ARK was one of the first firms to win approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a Bitcoin (BTC 0.22%) ETF last year. Wood and her team are extremely bullish on the world’s largest cryptocurrency, predicting it could soar 1,660% to $1.48 million per coin by the year 2030.

The crypto currently trades at around $84,000, which is 21% below its record high. If ARK’s prediction is right, the recent dip could be a great buying opportunity.

Image source: Getty Images.

Bitcoin has crushed every other asset class over the last decade

Bitcoin has a market capitalization of $1.6 trillion, which accounts for more than half of the total value of every cryptocurrency in circulation across the industry. If it were a company, it would be the seventh largest in the entire world.

Advertisement

It’s a speculative asset because it doesn’t generate any revenue or earnings, nor does it have a legitimate use case in the real world. Therefore, its value is very hard to pin down.

Nevertheless, it has a series of unique qualities that have led investors to believe it’s a good store of value, like a digital version of gold.

It’s completely decentralized, which means it can’t be controlled by any person, company, or government. It also has a capped supply of 21 million coins, which won’t be fully mined until around the year 2140, so it offers the perception of scarcity. Lastly, as I touched on earlier, it can be purchased through dozens of ETFs from different issuers, allowing financial advisors and institutional investors to own it in a safe, regulated manner.

Those attributes have paved the way for Bitcoin to march to new record highs recently, despite most other cryptocurrencies failing to break above their best-ever levels from 2021 (or in some cases, even earlier).

In fact, had you bought Bitcoin 10 years ago and held on, you would be sitting on a 29,100% return — enough to have turned an investment of $10,000 into $2.9 million! It has obliterated every other asset class over the last decade, from stocks to real estate to gold:

Advertisement

Bitcoin Price Chart

Bitcoin price data by YCharts.

ARK points to eight catalysts that could drive further upside

In a report issued in 2023, ARK highlighted eight potential factors that could drive Bitcoin higher over the long term, but not all of them make sense, in my opinion. For example, it thinks Bitcoin could become the currency of choice in emerging markets, but even after El Salvador became the first country to adopt it as legal tender in 2021, it appears most consumers still aren’t willing to use it (partly because of its volatility).

Moreover, ARK believes individuals with a high net worth will increasingly own Bitcoin because it’s harder for governments to seize than cash and other traditional assets. However, we know the U.S. government alone has successfully confiscated over 200,000 bitcoins, which are worth $17 billion at the current price. So, this particular theory doesn’t really hold water.

With that said, three of ARK’s eight catalysts are somewhat plausible:

  • Nation-state treasury: Governments all over the world hold trillions of dollars worth of physical gold, and ARK thinks they will eventually hold some of their reserves in Bitcoin. President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order to establish a Bitcoin reserve for the U.S., and while it technically still needs the support of Congress, the wheels are clearly turning on this idea.
  • Digital gold: ARK predicts between 20% and 50% of the money investors normally park in gold could be allocated to Bitcoin instead, because it’s digital and more portable than the precious metal.
  • Institutional investment: Wood’s firm believes institutions will eventually allocate a portion of their assets to Bitcoin over time, thanks to its consistent returns. ETFs could accelerate this trend, because they eliminate the risks associated with storing cryptocurrency in digital wallets, which are susceptible to hacks.

Setting my opinions aside for a moment, ARK believes Bitcoin could soar as high as $1.48 million per coin by 2030 based on the eight catalysts it outlined. That would give investors a potential return of 1,660% from where it currently trades.

Wood even went a step further at the Bitcoin Investor Day in March 2024. She said it could surpass ARK’s bullish forecast and reach $3.8 million instead, based on the idea that ETFs could lay the groundwork for institutional investors to allocate 5% of their assets to the cryptocurrency. If she’s right, that implies a potential upside of 4,420%.

Advertisement

Is Ark’s $1.48 million Bitcoin target realistic?

If Bitcoin rose to a price of $1.48 million, it would have a fully diluted market capitalization of $31 trillion. In other words, it would be almost 10 times more valuable than Apple, which is currently the world’s most valuable company with a $3.2 trillion market cap. It would also be worth more than the output of the entire U.S. economy, which was around $29.7 trillion last year.

Does that sound realistic for an asset that produces no revenue, no earnings, and has struggled to generate traction as a currency? For me, the answer is no.

Despite Wood’s enthusiasm for the potential of ETFs, they have attracted less than $100 billion in inflows so far, which is a mere fraction of Bitcoin’s current market cap. Granted, these securities have been available for only one year, but I don’t see a catalyst on the horizon that would cause inflows to accelerate from here — they seem to be slowing down instead.

A more realistic price target might be $942,800 per coin. At that level, Bitcoin’s market cap would be $19.8 trillion, which matches the total value of all above-ground gold reserves right now.

I’m not suggesting this will happen, because I believe gold has more intrinsic value than a digital token thanks to its physical state and because it has been accepted as a store of value globally for thousands of years.

Advertisement

However, if Bitcoin does become universally accepted as the digital alternative to gold, that price target still presents investors with an incredible potential return of 1,020% from here.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Crypto

The Cryptocurrency That Could Be About to Explode 1,000% | The Motley Fool

Published

on

The Cryptocurrency That Could Be About to Explode 1,000% | The Motley Fool

This tiny AI coin could be ready to skyrocket in 2026.

It’s slim pickings in the crypto market right now, with nearly every cryptocurrency down 25% or more over the past 90 days. But if you’re willing to dig for bargains and hold your nose at the same time, it’s possible to come up with some potential blockbuster plays for 2026.

My favorite pick right now is Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET 0.25%), down 68% over the past 90 days, and more than 80% for the year. This is exactly the type of beaten-down cryptocurrency that could be ready to explode higher by 1,000% or more over the next 12 months.

Rules for picking 1,000% winners

In order for any cryptocurrency to soar 1,000% or more within a relatively short period of time, it needs to meet a few key criteria. First of all, it needs to be dirt cheap — that’s the only way to attract speculative retail money. So, as a first cutoff, let’s narrow our search to beaten-down cryptos trading for $1 or less.

Second, the cryptocurrency needs to be in a red-hot sector or backed by a red-hot investment thesis. Within the blockchain and crypto world, there are plenty of potential hot ideas to choose from, including real-world asset tokenization, stablecoins, and decentralized finance (DeFi).

Advertisement

But let’s face facts here: If you try explaining real-world asset tokenization or stablecoins to your friends and family over the winter holidays, you’ll probably be met with a very frosty reception. The investment narrative needs to be easy to grasp and easy to explain. And I can’t think of a better one right now than artificial intelligence (AI).

Image source: Getty Images.

So let’s further narrow our search down to so-called AI coins. This was once a red-hot category, and includes some major names like Bittensor, Render, and Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET 0.25%).

The case for buying Artificial Superintelligence Alliance

Of these AI coins, the only one that’s trading for less than a buck right now is Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (the cryptocurrency formerly known as Fetch.ai). It has a super-low discount price of $0.20 — almost as cheap as some meme coins. In order for FET to explode in price by 1,000%, all investors need it to do is hit a price of $2.20.

Fetch Stock Quote

Today’s Change

(-0.25%) $-0.00

Advertisement

Current Price

$0.21

Thankfully, it has already done that in the past. In March 2024, Artificial Superintelligence Alliance hit an all-time high of $3.47. So, getting back to a price level of $2.20 may not be as insurmountable as it seems at first.

Moreover, the crypto (via the involvement of Fetch.ai in the alliance) is at the forefront of the hot new field of agentic AI, so there’s plenty of long-term growth potential.

Just keep in mind that there’s a big reason the price of Artificial Superintelligence Alliance has cratered by nearly 95% over the past 18 months. Simply put, investors have given up on the “alliance” that was supposed to create the world’s foremost AI coin.

The multistep merger process that was supposed to result in a single token called ASI has gone on much longer than expected. It has also been much messier than many people expected. In October, Ocean Protocol — one of the three big AI players involved — finally pulled out of the alliance, and that sent the price of FET tumbling.

What can investors expect in 2026?

As recently as December 2024, the price of Artificial Superintelligence Alliance was around $2. That’s why I’m optimistic about a potential rebound in price in 2026. Crypto traders have likely overreacted and are now dumping this AI coin indiscriminately.

Advertisement

That being said, a 1,000% surge in price is by no means guaranteed. It’s quite possible that the price of Artificial Superintelligence Alliance could go to zero. So, buckle up now if you plan to invest in this AI coin — the path ahead is likely to be filled with turbulence and stomach-churning moves up and down.

Continue Reading

Crypto

China Discovers ‘Largest’ Undersea Gold Deposit in Asia as State Mining Ambitions Expand

Published

on

China Discovers ‘Largest’ Undersea Gold Deposit in Asia as State Mining Ambitions Expand
China says it has uncovered Asia’s largest undersea gold deposit, a massive offshore find that strengthens domestic supply, reshapes regional resource rankings, and highlights Beijing’s accelerating push to secure strategic minerals.
Continue Reading

Crypto

North Korean hackers allegedly stole record $2.02 billion of cryptocurrency in 2025. Here’s how they did it | Stock Market News

Published

on

North Korean hackers allegedly stole record .02 billion of cryptocurrency in 2025. Here’s how they did it | Stock Market News

North Korea remains dominant threat to cryptocurrency security in 2025, even while confirmed incidents have decreased, according to a report by blockchain analytics company Chainanlysis.

Hackers from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) allegedly stole a record $2.02 billion of crypto this year — a 51% jump compared to 2024, and taking their all-time total to $6.75 billion, it added.

The analysis further found that the DRPK is achieving larger thefts with fewer incidents, using unique methods to gain access and pull off their heists.

North Korea’s alleged crypto heists: Here’s how they did it

As per the report, these hacks were often carried out in unique fashion by embedding IT workers inside crypto services or using sophisticated impersonation tactics targeting executives.

Embedding IT workers

This is among the DPRK’s “principal attack vectors”, the report said. It added that the hackers secured jobs inside crypto services to gain privileged access and enable high‑impact compromises.

Advertisement

“Part of this record year likely reflects an expanded reliance on IT worker infiltration at exchanges, custodians, and web3 firms, which can accelerate initial access and lateral movement ahead of large‑scale theft,” it noted.

Fake jobs

Further, taking the IT worker model and “flipping it on its head”, the analysis said that DPRK-linked operators are also increasingly impersonating recruiters for prominent web3 and AI firms. This way, they orchestrate fake hiring processes that culminate in “technical screens” designed to harvest credentials, source code, and VPN or SSO access to the victim’s current employer.

“At the executive level, a similar social‑engineering playbook appears in the form of bogus outreach from purported strategic investors or acquirers, who use pitch meetings and pseudo–due diligence to probe for sensitive systems information and potential access paths into high‑value infrastructure,” it added.

Higher- value attacks

Over the years, DPRK-linked operators are increasingly undertaking significantly higher-value attacks compared to other threat actors. “This pattern reinforces that when North Korean hackers strike, they target large services and aim for maximum impact,” the report added.

It noted that “this year’s record haul came from significantly fewer known incidents”, including the massive $1.5 billion Bybit hack in February 2025.

Advertisement

DPRK’s distinctive laundering patterns

Not just the hacking process, the laundering of stolen funds is also distinctive, the report said. It noted that more than 60% of laundering was of volume concentrated below $5,00,000 transfer value tranches, despite the total stolen amounts being larger.

“Even while the DPRK consistently steals larger amounts than other stolen fund threat actors, they structure on-chain payments in smaller tranches, speaking to the sophistication of their laundering,” it added.

Continue Reading

Trending