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Cathie Wood Sees $1.5M Bitcoin and $10T SpaceX Revenue — Can Either Happen?

Published 18 September 2026
Kurt Robson
Authors
Edited by Ryan James
Key Takeaways
  • Cathie Wood has backed a scenario in which SpaceX’s Starship business generates $10 trillion in annual revenue by 2030.
  • ARK Invest’s separate Bitcoin bull case targets $1.5 million by the same year.
  • Both forecasts depend on adoption reaching levels far beyond anything demonstrated today.

Cathie Wood now has two extraordinary 2030 forecasts on the table: a $1.5 million Bitcoin price and $10 trillion in annual revenue from SpaceX’s Starship.

The ARK Invest founder’s latest prediction suggests each Starship launch could eventually unlock approximately $1 billion in revenue.

Wood then applied that estimate to Elon Musk’s ambition of completing 10,000 Starship flights annually, producing the eye-watering $10 trillion figure.

Musk responded that the scenario was “not impossible.”

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How Does Starship Reach $10 Trillion?

Cathie Wood’s forecast is based primarily on Starlink.

ARK researcher Sam Korus estimates that Starlink currently generates approximately $19 million in annual connectivity revenue for every terabit per second of network capacity.

A Starship loaded with next-generation Starlink V3 satellites could reportedly add around 61 terabits per second of capacity.

Cathie Wood laid out the calculation in an X post, connecting the potential revenue from each launch with Musk’s planned flight frequency.

“Each Starship launch could generate $1 billion in revenue,” the CEO wrote on X.

“Elon is aiming for 10,000 flights per year, or $10 trillion in Starship revenues, by 2030. If SpaceX achieves this goal, its $1.75 trillion IPO will be considered, in hindsight, a deep value opportunity!”

Musk responded that the scenario was “not impossible.”

Elon Musk did not reject the idea | Source: X (@elonmusk)

Completing 10,000 launches annually would mean sending an average of more than 27 Starships into space every day, or roughly one every 53 minutes.

SpaceX would need to manufacture, launch, and refly rockets at a cadence closer to commercial aviation than the existing space industry.

Why $1 Billion Per Launch May Not Scale

The most uncertain part of Wood’s forecast is whether revenue can continue to increase in proportion to its capacity.

Starlink will not be able to automatically generate another $1 billion just because a rocket places more bandwidth into orbit.

SpaceX must find customers prepared to buy that capacity.

Revenue per unit of bandwidth could also fall as the network expands, particularly if SpaceX lowers prices to attract more users.

ARK’s own underlying analysis acknowledges that revenue per terabit has already moved lower, falling from approximately $23 million in 2024 to $19 million in 2025.

Taken together, this makes Wood’s prediction extremely difficult to reach.

For context, $10 trillion amounts to around $27.4 billion per day and $1.14 billion per hour.

Can Bitcoin Reach $1.5 Million by 2030?

Wood’s Bitcoin target is also extreme, but it is supported by a more detailed valuation model.

ARK’s official 2030 forecast includes a $300,000 bear case, a $710,000 base case and a $1.5 million bull case.

With Bitcoin trading around $80,000, the bull target would require an increase of approximately 1,775%.

The percentage rises to roughly 1,825% when calculated from a Bitcoin price near $77,900.

Reaching $1.5 million by the end of 2030 would require Bitcoin to almost double in value annually from current levels.

Based on ARK’s projected supply of 20.5 million BTC, the target would make a market capitalization of nearly $30.8 trillion.

That would make Bitcoin substantially larger than the gold market size used by ARK when constructing the model.

What Must Happen for ARK’s Bitcoin Target?

Institutional investment is the largest contributor to ARK’s bull case.

The model assumes Bitcoin accounts for 6.5% of a projected $200 trillion global investment portfolio, excluding gold.

ARK also assumes Bitcoin reaches 60% of gold’s market opportunity.

Additional assumptions include Bitcoin capturing:

  • 6% of the emerging-market monetary base.
  • 7% of global government reserves excluding gold.
  • 10% of global corporate cash.
  • Rapid growth across Bitcoin-based financial services.

These assumptions require Bitcoin to become a mainstream reserve asset held by institutions and governments within four years.

Which Forecast Is More Realistic?

Neither forecast represents a likely baseline outcome.

However, the $1.5 million Bitcoin prediction faces fewer physical constraints than the $10 trillion Starship forecast.

Bitcoin does not need factories to produce almost 30 rockets per day or thousands of successful annual recoveries.

A sharp repricing could occur if a relatively small percentage of global capital moved into the asset.

However, that does not make $1.5 million probable.

Bitcoin would still need to add tens of trillions of dollars in implied value while avoiding regulatory setbacks and competition from other assets.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be, nor should it be construed as, financial advice. We do not make any warranties regarding the completeness, reliability, or accuracy of this information. All investments involve risk, and past performance does not guarantee future results. We recommend consulting a financial advisor before making any investment decisions.
Kurt Robson

Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN, specialising in the fast-moving worlds of crypto and emerging technology. He began his career covering local news in Cornwall after graduating from Falmouth University with First Class Honours in Journalism. There, he cut his teeth on everything from council meetings to missing swans.

He quickly rose through the ranks to become a frontline journalist at several of the UK’s leading national newspapers. Over the years, he has interviewed musicians and celebrities, reported from courtrooms and crime scenes, and secured multiple front-page exclusives.

Following the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kurt shifted his focus to technology journalism—just ahead of the AI boom. With a natural curiosity and a trained eye for emerging trends, he has found a new rhythm in reporting on innovation.

At CCN, Kurt's work focuses on the cutting edge of crypto, blockchain, AI, and the evolving digital world. Drawing on his background in people-first reporting and his deep interest in disruptive tech, Kurt delivers stories that are insightful, entertaining, and human-centric.

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