Cathie Wood, CEO of ARK Invest, believes that Bitcoin and Ether act as "risk-off" assets and a "flight to safety" for investors amid macroeconomic uncertainty.
Recent turmoil in the banking sector has shown that Bitcoin and Ether can withstand a shaky economy, outperform other asset classes, and function like gold.
Wood stated that Bitcoin's resilience throughout the most recent banking crisis has been "the most remarkable" of all indicators her investment management firm is monitoring.
According to Wood, cryptocurrency will eventually become an "election issue" when the sector becomes more broadly accepted.
The public can more clearly see the kinds of regulatory pressures that the US government is applying on the industry to maintain centralized control of money and monetary policy.
Wood thinks that Bitcoin and Ether's consideration as a flight to safety assets like gold suggest much broader-based adoption and acceptance than most people understand.
Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, disagrees with Wood's sentiment, stating that Bitcoin could not serve as an "effective currency" because it is too volatile, and central banks won't adopt it.
Dalio explained that he wants to see an "inflation-linked" coin be built to ensure consumers secure their buying power.
Despite previously describing Bitcoin as "one hell of an invention," Dalio believes that it is a poor alternative to gold and gets attention "way out of proportion" to its size.