Cathie Wood (캐시 우드), CEO of U.S. asset manager Ark Invest, remained optimistic about bitcoin even after the release of U.S. jobs data.

On Aug. 10, blockchain media outlet CoinPost reported that Wood said recent U.S. employment indicators may look weak on the surface, but the actual economy is not as bad. She said bitcoin and stablecoins could see major benefits going forward.

Wood argued that the U.S. jobs data released on Aug. 7 should prompt more attention to structural changes across the economy. She said the numbers alone could be read as a sign of slowdown, but productivity improvements and technology adoption are also advancing at the same time.

Wood noted that the U.S. fiscal deficit as a share of gross domestic product stood at 5.6 percent, a level similar to the early-1980s Reaganomics period. She said that if productivity gains and technology adoption accelerate as Ark Invest expects, the ratio could move closer to 5 percent by year-end. She added that many forecasting institutions are skeptical of that outlook.

She also cited strength in capital spending as a basis for her bullish view. Wood said capital expenditures are now beyond the range of the past 30 years, and that the market is being excessive in its concerns about an artificial intelligence bubble. She placed weight on the possibility that technology investment could lead to higher productivity in the real economy.

On prices, she identified deflation as a bigger risk than inflation. The U.S. consumer price index in June fell 0.4 percent from the previous month, the producer price index fell 0.3 percent, and the core personal consumption expenditures price index rose just 0.1 percent. Wood warned that price indicators have recently been moving downward, and that companies that are slow to adopt AI and productivity tools could be hit harder.

She also set out her views on the dollar and oil. Ark Invest said, using data from the prediction market Kalshi, that the dollar index could rise to 102.6 by year-end. Wood said the forecast was notable even as concerns grow about foreign governments selling U.S. Treasuries. On Japan's recent foreign exchange market intervention, she stressed it was characterized by selling euros and buying yen, and was not a dollar sale.

In the oil market, she pointed to the possibility of oversupply. The United Arab Emirates withdrew from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in May, and production reached a record high. Wood said oil prices could fall sharply, and that this could act as a deflationary tailwind for the global economy.

That macroeconomic view led to her outlook for cryptocurrencies. Wood said the ratio of bitcoin to gold appears to be building a base again. She said that if agent-based commerce spreads, with AI agents autonomously carrying out payments and transactions, bitcoin and stablecoins could be the biggest beneficiaries.

In markets, there is a mood of taking Wood's comments as a signal of expectations for digital assets' role as payment infrastructure rather than a simple price outlook. That is because views are strengthening at the same time that bitcoin is a store of value and stablecoins are a means of transaction. As a result, market watchers are expected to focus on how U.S. price trends, the strength of the dollar, changes in oil prices and the expansion of AI-based commerce affect the cryptocurrency market.