Political Catalyst: 2026 Midterms and Bitcoin Strategy
Cathie Wood is betting that politics, not just markets, could be the catalyst that pushes the United States into actively buying bitcoin. The ARK Invest founder said this week that cryptocurrency has become a durable political issue for President Donald Trump, one that could shape policy decisions as the White House looks ahead to the 2026 midterm elections. In Wood’s view, that dynamic increases the odds that the federal government eventually moves beyond holding seized BTC and begins purchasing BTC outright for a national strategic reserve.
Crypto was “part of the reason he won the presidency,” Wood said on a recent episode of ARK’s Bitcoin Brainstorm podcast. With midterms looming, she argued, Trump has incentives to keep the industry onside and to deliver visible progress. “The most important one is that he doesn’t want to be a lame duck. He wants to have another one or two productive years, and I think he sees crypto as a path to the future,” Wood said.
The U.S. BTC reserve was created by executive order less than a week into Trump’s second term, alongside a broader digital asset stockpile and a new interagency working group chaired by Special Advisor for AI and Crypto David Sacks. So far, however, the reserve has been capitalized only with bitcoin seized through criminal forfeitures — assets Trump has pledged not to sell.
Current Reserve Status and Buying Expectations
“It seems as though there has been reticence about actually buying bitcoin for the strategic reserve,” Wood said. “So far, it’s confiscated [bitcoin].” That posture, she suggested, may not last. “The original intent was to own one million bitcoins, so I actually think they will start buying.” Crypto has emerged as a more organized political constituency over the past election cycle. Industry-backed political action committees poured money into congressional races, while prominent executives publicly endorsed Trump and, in some cases, donated personally. Wood herself was among those supporters.
The administration has also made a point of signaling engagement with the sector. The White House has hosted crypto-related events, and firms including Coinbase, Tether and Ripple are among those contributing to the construction of a new White House ballroom. On the policy front, Trump has signed executive orders establishing the bitcoin reserve and crypto stockpile, and backed legislative efforts such as the GENIUS Act, which would formalize stablecoin rules.
Policy Progress: From Executive Orders to Legislation
A July report from Sacks’ working group laid out additional recommendations, including granting the Commodity Futures Trading Commission authority over spot markets in non-security digital assets. It reaffirmed that the bitcoin reserve and crypto stockpile would be administered by the Treasury Department and, at least initially, funded with forfeited assets. The order also directed the Treasury and Commerce Departments to explore “budget-neutral” ways to acquire additional bitcoin.
Wood sees that constraint as the key hurdle, but not an insurmountable one. She framed potential government buying as a market inflection point, especially as bitcoin’s supply tightens. Nearly 20 million of bitcoin’s 21 million cap have already been mined. “If we get the U.S. not just adding confiscated bitcoin to a strategic reserve but actually out there buying,” Wood said, “that would set off what we’re all waiting for — the scarcity value to reassert itself.”
Bitcoin as a ‘Scarce Value’
Wood sees potential government buying as a market inflection point. With Bitcoin supply tightening (nearly 20 million of the 21 million cap already mined), actual U.S. government purchases would likely trigger a repricing of scarcity. “If the U.S. not only adds confiscated bitcoin to a strategic reserve but actually goes out and buys,” Wood said, “that would set off what we’re all waiting for — the scarcity value to reassert itself.” Her comments echo market concerns about a supply crisis as institutional and sovereign buyers enter the fray, potentially driving Bitcoin into a new price phase.