Jefferies investment strategist Christopher Wood has completely removed Bitcoin from his portfolio.

Cathie Wood, founder and CEO of ARK Invest, argues that the mathematically limited supply makes the first cryptocurrency a superior scarce asset compared to gold.

Years of pressure have not broken the US economy, but have wound it tight. In a New Year’s letter, @CathieDWood shares her coiled spring theory and 2026 outlook, including insights on inflation, productivity, AI, bitcoin, gold, the dollar, and valuations.https://t.co/B7PFLGpqFG

— ARK Invest (@ARKInvest) January 15, 2026

Wood views Bitcoin as a new class of scarce asset in portfolios, whose value is driven not by inflation fears but by a fundamental mismatch between growing global capital and limited supply.

She analyzed the performance divergence of the two assets: in 2025, gold rose by 65%, while Bitcoin fell by 6%. However, since October 2022, the cryptocurrency has surged by 360%, compared to gold's 166% increase. Wood attributes this to "global wealth creation," which outpaces the modest annual growth of gold supply at about 1.8%.

"Additional demand for gold may exceed its supply growth. Gold miners can increase production, which is something that cannot be done with Bitcoin," Wood noted.

Key Differences and Decoupling

The supply of the first cryptocurrency is mathematically programmed to grow by approximately 0.82% over the next two years, after which the growth rate will slow to 0.41%.

This "inelastic" supply curve means that any surge in demand—such as from spot ETFs—will have a more pronounced impact on the asset's price.

"If demand for Bitcoin continues to rise, the leading crypto asset will gain more advantages than gold due to its nature," Wood believes.

She also emphasized that the recent rally in gold has reached historically extreme levels. The ratio of its market capitalization to the M2 money supply has returned to levels seen in the early 1930s and 1980s, which previously indicated high stock market returns following corrections.

Source: Ark Invest.

Wood highlighted Bitcoin's diversification potential as its main advantage. The correlation between the cryptocurrency and gold has been lower than that between stocks (S&P 500) and bonds.

In mid-January, for the first time since mid-2022, the 52-week correlation between Bitcoin and gold dropped to zero.

This allows the asset to be viewed as an effective tool for enhancing returns per unit of risk in investment portfolios in the coming years.

Quantum Threat

Jefferies investment strategist and author of the popular "Greed & Fear" concept, Christopher Wood, has completely removed Bitcoin from his flagship portfolio, according to Bloomberg. He replaced the first cryptocurrency with physical gold and shares of gold mining companies.

The reason for this shift is growing concerns that advancements in quantum computing could jeopardize the long-term security of the coin.

Wood added that worries about these risks are increasing among many long-term investors. According to him, some asset managers are questioning the thesis of Bitcoin's value as a safe-haven asset if the timeline for quantum computers shortens.

In December, Castle Island Ventures partner Nick Carter criticized developers for ignoring the threat of quantum computing. He believes that the reluctance to acknowledge these risks is already weighing on the price of the first cryptocurrency.

Meanwhile, Blockstream co-founder and cypherpunk Adam Back believes that systems capable of breaking Bitcoin's cryptography will not emerge for at least 20-40 years.