Cathie Wood of ARK Invest is championing Bitcoin as a top-tier portfolio diversifier for the years ahead, thanks to its stubbornly low correlation with other major assets.
ARK’s analysis of weekly returns from January 2020 to early January 2026 reveals Bitcoin’s modest correlation of 0.14 with gold. That’s significantly lower than the 0.27 correlation between the S&P 500 and bonds. Bitcoin’s correlation is lowest with bonds (0.06), slightly higher with gold and REITs, and peaks at 0.28 with the S&P 500.
Even at its highest, Bitcoin’s correlation remains far below traditional asset pairs like the S&P 500 and REITs, which correlate at 0.79. Wood notes this positions Bitcoin as a strong tool for portfolio diversification and higher returns per unit of risk.
On the mining front, Bitcoin’s supply growth is strictly capped by protocol. New issuance is set to increase around 0.8% per year over the next two years before slowing to about 0.4% annually. Unlike gold, which can be ramped up in response to higher prices, Bitcoin’s supply is mathematically fixed, making it inherently scarce. This predictable schedule, combined with rising demand, has contributed to a 360% price increase since late 2022.
Wood also outlined her broader outlook, describing the US economy as a “coiled spring” poised for a rebound. She highlighted lower inflation and tax policies as potential drivers of income and corporate cash flow growth, and pointed to AI, robotics, energy storage, blockchain, and multiomics as productivity boosters that could support strong GDP growth.
