Bitcoin: Cathie Wood Sees Reassuring Signal Against Gold

Bitcoin has started to outperform gold again in recent weeks, a move Cathie Wood considers “very reassuring.” In her monthly In The Know show published on September 5, the head of ARK Invest said BTC still has “a lot of road” ahead of it because of its threefold role as a technology, a global monetary system and a new asset class. Her argument is based in particular on the recent evolution of the Bitcoin-to-gold ratio. An interesting reading, provided price ratios are not confused with correlation.

Bitcoin: the ratio with gold turns higher

The signal observed by Cathie Wood comes after several months during which gold held up far better than Bitcoin. Bref Crypto noted just a few days ago that Bitcoin and gold were moving closer together, while the correlation with the Nasdaq was declining.

Over the past month, the relative picture has reversed. Market data indicate gains of around +21.7% for Bitcoin over 30 days, compared with just +1.8% for gold. Across 2026 as a whole, the comparison remains less favorable to BTC: around -10%, versus -2% for the precious metal.

This is the recent acceleration in the BTC-to-gold ratio that Wood is watching. When the ratio rises, one bitcoin can simply buy more ounces of gold than before. That is not the same as saying that the two assets are moving together.

The distinction deserves emphasis. A low correlation measures price movements that are not closely synchronized; a rising ratio means that Bitcoin is outperforming gold. Both phenomena can occur simultaneously.

ARK points out that, during the previous cycles observed by Wood in 2020-2021 and then 2024-2025, gold tended to rise before Bitcoin entered a stronger catch-up phase. She considers the current move potentially comparable. This is, however, a market interpretation, not a mechanical relationship that can predict the next cycle.

Cathie Wood sees three transformations in Bitcoin

ARK’s conviction is not based solely on a chart. In the September 2026 edition of In The Know, Cathie Wood presents Bitcoin as three overlapping transformations.

The first is technological: a network that enables value to be transferred without relying on traditional banking infrastructure. The second is monetary: Bitcoin has a programmed issuance policy and has neither a central bank nor an issuing company. The third concerns its status as a new asset class that emerged only in 2009.

That is why she says Bitcoin still has “miles to go.”

Wood even describes BTC as an asset that can be both risk-on and risk-off. The first role appears when investors seek growth and accept greater volatility. The second is closer to the gold narrative: holding an asset without direct counterparty risk when confidence in certain intermediaries or currencies deteriorates.

The market is indeed beginning to provide some support for this thesis. The correlation between Bitcoin and the Nasdaq has recently weakened, while the correlation with gold has increased over certain measurement windows. This does not turn BTC into a traditional safe haven: its corrections remain significantly more severe than those of the yellow metal.

Institutionalization is also continuing. BlackRock’s IBIT Bitcoin ETF now manages around $60 billion, and U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs absorbed approximately $924 million in net inflows over the past week.

This capital gives greater depth to a market that, just a few years ago, depended much more directly on crypto exchanges.

The Fed remains the immediate test

The problem for Wood’s thesis now lies on the macroeconomic side. This week, inflation data and the Fed remain capable of quickly changing the mood around Bitcoin.

Bitcoin is trading around $78,500 on September 8, after recently failing to move above $82,000. The strong August U.S. employment report revived expectations of a Fed rate hike in September. Gold also fell after the release, as higher bond yields made non-yielding assets less attractive.

The PPI and then CPI data due this week will therefore carry more weight than the Bitcoin-to-gold ratio in the very short term.

Persistent inflation could keep real rates high and support the dollar, an environment that is traditionally challenging for BTC. Conversely, easing inflation would make it easier for the catch-up move against gold to continue.

Cathie Wood also maintains extremely high price scenarios for 2030. They were not updated during this appearance and remain ARK-specific assumptions based on future adoption levels. They are therefore not necessary to assess the signal being observed today.

The most interesting point is ultimately much more immediate. Bitcoin has just outperformed gold over one month even as the yellow metal benefited from a favorable geopolitical environment. This lends weight to Wood’s observation.

Not yet proof that Bitcoin has become the new gold. But enough to watch closely whether the rotation continues after the next inflation data and the Fed meeting.