Bitcoin News Today: Stablecoins Displace Bitcoin in Emerging Markets, Cathie Wood Cuts 2030 Price Target

ARK Invest's Cathie Wood has revised her long-term Bitcoin price forecast downward by $300,000, attributing the shift to the rapid adoption of stablecoins in emerging markets, according to a Decrypt report. The prominent investor, who previously projected BTC could reach $1.5 million by 2030, now anticipates a maximum price of $1.2 million for the same timeframe, according to a Yahoo Finance article. Wood cited stablecoins—digital tokens pegged to fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar—as increasingly displacing Bitcoin's role as a store of value, particularly in countries grappling with hyperinflation, currency controls, and sanctions, according to a Blockonomi article.

"Stablecoins are usurping part of the role we thought Bitcoin would play," Wood told CNBC on Thursday, emphasizing that these tokens are scaling faster than anticipated in regions where Bitcoin was once seen as a primary alternative to unstable local currencies. The Decrypt report noted that the total stablecoin market cap surpassed $300 billion in 2025, a milestone that underscores their growing influence.

Wood also observed that in jurisdictions like Venezuela and Argentina, where inflation rates have soared—Venezuela's bolívar inflation hit 269% in 2025—stablecoins like Tether's USDT have become a preferred savings vehicle.

Emerging market adoption of stablecoins is accelerating, with U.S. dollar–pegged tokens dominating crypto inflows to Latin America between 2022 and 2024, the Decrypt report added. In Venezuela, where strict currency controls and a two-tiered exchange system have limited access to physical U.S. dollars, stablecoins are being used to bypass banking restrictions and even facilitate international trade. Reports from 2024 revealed that the country's government had leveraged stablecoins to circumvent U.S. sanctions, further cementing their utility in the region.

Wood's revised outlook aligns with broader industry trends. Institutional crypto firm Galaxy recently slashed its 2025 Bitcoin price target from $185,000 to $120,000, citing a "maturity era" for the asset marked by reduced volatility and increased institutional participation, a Blockonomi article reported. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump's signing of the GENIUS Act in July has spurred regulatory clarity for stablecoin issuance, potentially accelerating their adoption in both corporate and governmental sectors, the Yahoo Finance article noted.

Despite the lowered forecast, Wood remains bullish on Bitcoin's long-term potential, describing it as a "global monetary system" and a digital counterpart to gold, as the Decrypt report recounted. She argued that while stablecoins serve as a cash alternative, Bitcoin's value lies in its scarcity and role as a hedge against inflation. However, the growing utility of stablecoins in payments and cross-border transactions has forced investors to recalibrate expectations, as the Yahoo Finance article observed.

The shift reflects a broader reallocation of value in the crypto ecosystem. Standard Chartered estimates that U.S. dollar–pegged stablecoins could siphon over $1 trillion from traditional banking systems in emerging markets by 2028, the Decrypt report highlighted. As Venezuela and other nations explore blockchain-based solutions for crypto custody and interbank transactions, the competition between Bitcoin and stablecoins is poised to intensify, reshaping the landscape of digital finance.