Cathie Wood Remains Optimistic About $1.5 Million Bitcoin Price Target: Finance Redefined

Cathie Wood Remains Optimistic About $1.5 Million Bitcoin Price Target: Finance Redefined

This week, the cryptocurrency market showed signs of recovery after a tough spell. Bitcoin's price rose to the psychological level of $90,000, encouraging ETF holders. Cathie Wood, CEO of ARK Invest, reiterated her bullish $1.5 million Bitcoin price target. The positive sentiment in the market is fueled by expectations of interest rate cuts in the US, which could provide further support for crypto assets.

Key Takeaways

Bitcoin's price rebounded to $90,000 after weeks of decline, providing relief to ETF investors.
Cathie Wood maintains a $1.5 million Bitcoin price target, citing returning liquidity post-US government shutdown.
The expectation of interest rate cuts is rising, contributing to the market's optimism.
Despite the recent recovery, Bitcoin faces the worst November in seven years, down around 17%.
The UK is advancing a new tax framework for DeFi to alleviate tax burdens on crypto volunteering and liquidity pools.

Bitcoin Price Recovery Highlights Growing Market Optimism

After enduring a challenging four-week period, the cryptocurrency market experienced a long-awaited recovery this week. Bitcoin’s value made a notable return to the $90,000 mark on Wednesday, generating relief for many Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) holders, who found themselves back in profit as BTC traded above the critical cost basis of $89,600 for ETF buyers.

Cathie Wood, the CEO and Chief Investment Officer at ARK Invest, expressed confidence by declaring that the firm’s projected price target for Bitcoin remains at an optimistic $1.5 million during the anticipated bull market. She pointed out that billions of dollars in returning liquidity are expected to flow back into the market, especially following the conclusion of the US government shutdown.

This resurgence in the crypto market has coincided with a marked uptick in expectations regarding interest rate cuts in the US. Current predictions indicate a 46% increase in odds for potential rate cuts within just one week. According to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, the markets are pricing in an 85% likelihood of a 25 basis-point rate cut during the US Federal Reserve's meeting scheduled for December 10, a jump from just 39% reported the previous week.

Interest Rate Cut Probabilities Source: CMEgroup.com

However, it’s important to note that Bitcoin is experiencing its most challenging November in seven years, with the cryptocurrency down approximately 17% month-to-date, despite the historical average return for Bitcoin in November being 41%, based on data from CoinGlass.

Cathie Wood’s Unwavering Bitcoin Prediction Amid Market Changes

This potential year-end reversal in equity and cryptocurrency markets is being fueled by improved liquidity, with ARK Invest estimating that around $70 billion has already been injected into markets since the end of the government shutdown. Another $300 billion is anticipated to enter over the coming weeks as normalization of the Treasury General Account occurs.

A significant catalyst for this market shift may arise on December 1, coinciding with the US Federal Reserve’s expected end to its quantitative tightening program. This change signals a shift toward quantitative easing, aimed at reducing borrowing costs and stimulating economic activities through bond purchases.

In a post on Wednesday, Ark wrote, “With liquidity returning, quantitative tightening (QT) ending December 1st, and monetary policy turning supportive, we believe conditions are building for markets to potentially reverse recent drawdowns.”

Source: ARK Invest

According to Cathie Wood, the current "liquidity squeeze" that has been capping the potential growth of both cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence markets is expected to reverse in the coming weeks. In April, ARK Invest forecasted a Bitcoin price target of $1.5 million by 2030 in their "bull case," while the "bear case" target was set at $300,000.

Bitcoin Price Target for 2030 Source: Ark-invest.com

Even with the recent correction in the crypto markets and stablecoins increasingly challenging Bitcoin’s position as a safe-haven asset, the bullish price outlook remains steadfast. Wood noted, “Stablecoins have accelerated, taking away some of Bitcoin's expected role,” but she also acknowledged that “the surge in gold prices has exceeded our expectations,” during a recent webinar.

Webinar by Cathie Wood, CEO and CIO of ARK Invest Source: Ark-funds.com

Progress in DeFi Taxation Framework in the UK

In other news, the UK government has proposed a new tax framework that aims to ease the tax burden on decentralized finance (DeFi) users. This includes allowing deferred capital gains taxes for crypto lending and liquidity pool users until the tokens are sold—a move that has been positively received by the local industry.

On Wednesday, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) proposed a “no gain, no loss” approach concerning DeFi transactions. This encompasses scenarios where one lends a token and retrieves the same type or engages in borrowing arrangements and entering liquidity pools. Taxable gains or losses will be assessed once liquidity tokens are redeemed, based on the number of tokens received compared to the original contribution.

Currently, depositing funds into a protocol can trigger capital gains tax, with UK rates varying between 18% and 32% depending on the specific transaction.

Positive Signals for UK’s Crypto Regulation

Sian Morton, marketing lead at the cross-chain payment system Relay protocol, remarked that HMRC's approach is a “meaningful step forward for UK DeFi users who borrow stablecoins against their crypto collateral and aligns tax treatment closer to the actual economic reality of these interactions.”

Maria Riivari, an attorney at the DeFi platform Aave, added that this change provides clarity indicating that DeFi transactions will not trigger taxes until the tokens are actually sold, suggesting that other countries may want to observe HMRC's thoughtful approach to these developments.

DWF Labs Launches $75 Million Fund for Institutional DeFi

DWF Labs, a cryptocurrency market maker and Web3 investment firm, announced plans to invest up to $75 million in decentralized finance projects to facilitate institutional adoption. The company shared this through a statement on X on Wednesday, highlighting that the fund will target projects with innovative value propositions ready for large-scale implementation.

“The initiative will focus on blockchain projects establishing dark-pool perpetual DEXs, decentralized money markets, and yield-bearing asset products, areas we believe are situated for significant growth as crypto liquidity transitions on-chain,” stated DWF Labs.

Additionally, DWF Labs’ managing partner, Andrei Grachev, stressed the necessity for building a DeFi infrastructure that offers tangible utility capable of meeting institutional demand. “DeFi is entering its institutional phase,” he noted. The firm plans to concentrate on projects utilizing Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, and Solana, alongside the Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2, Base.

Source: DWF Labs

The commitment from DWF Labs goes beyond mere funding; they will also provide support in several areas, including Total Value Locked (TVL) and liquidity provisioning, market strategy development, and access to partnered exchanges, market makers, and other institutional entities within the cryptocurrency space.

Balancer Community's Hack Fund Distribution Proposal

In another development, two members of the Balancer protocol community put forth a proposal outlining a plan for distributing a portion of funds recovered from a $116 million exploit that occurred in November. Approximately $28 million of this amount was retrieved by white-hat hackers and internal rescue teams, while the remainder was saved by StakeWise, an Ether liquid staking platform.

The proposal specifically addresses $8 million recovered by the white-hat hackers and internal rescuers, while addressing the distribution of the nearly $20 million reclaimed by StakeWise as a separate matter for its users.

Balancer Community Proposal to Distribute Recovered Funds Source: Balancer

The authors of the proposal suggest that reimbursements should be non-socialized, meaning funds will go only to the specific liquidity pools that lost assets, distributed on a pro-rata basis according to each holder's stake in the pool, represented by Balancer Pool Tokens (BPT). Furthermore, compensation should be in-kind, meaning that victims of the hack will receive payments in the tokens they originally lost—instead of cash—to sidestep price discrepancies among different digital assets.

Deddy Lavid, CEO of blockchain cybersecurity firm Cyvers, termed the Balancer hack as one of the “most sophisticated” attacks of 2025, emphasizing the importance of increasing user safety in the evolving landscape of cybersecurity threats.

Enlivex Plans $212 Million Investment in Rain Token

Lastly, a Nasdaq-listed biotech firm has unveiled plans to raise $212 million in a shift toward cryptocurrency. Enlivex Therapeutics (ENLV), a clinical-stage company focused on macrophage reprogramming immunotherapy, announced on Monday its intentions to gather $212 million through a private investment in public equity, selling shares at $1 each, which reflects about an 11.5% discount to the previous Friday's closing price.

The company aims to invest a substantial part of the raised funds into Rain (RAIN), the utility token for the decentralized prediction market operating on the Arbitrum network. This marks an unprecedented corporate strategy focusing on a prediction market token, according to the announcement made with Cointelegraph.

Shai Novik, Executive Chairman of Enlivex Therapeutics, expressed excitement about the prospects of prediction markets, stating they represent one of the most thrilling emerging sectors in the blockchain arena with "exceptional" long-term growth potential. When discussing the choice of the Rain protocol, Novik pointed out its “decentralized” setup, which facilitates a scalable model that supports worldwide accessibility and growth. Enlivex anticipates completing its Rain purchases within 30 days after closing the offering.

Review of the DeFi Market

As per data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, the majority of the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization recorded gains over the past week. Notable mentions include SPX6900 (SPX), a memecoin that surged over 43%, and Kaspa's (KAS) Layer-1 blockchain token, which increased by 39% during the same timeframe.

Total Value Locked in DeFi Source: DefiLlama

Thank you for reading our summary of this week’s most significant developments in the DeFi sector. Join us next Friday for more insightful stories and education regarding this rapidly advancing field.