Catherine Wood, the founder and CEO of ARK Investment Management, a New York-based firm focused on “thematic investing” such as “Industrial Innovation” and the ”Next Generation Internet,” has argued that Bitcoin (BTC) should be a part of every portfolio.
There’s “A Void In Research” When It Comes To Disruptive Technology
Wood, an economics and finance graduate from the University of Southern California, also noted that she founded ARK Invest in order to focus on “disruptive innovation” as she believes it’s “a void in research.” She added that “the appetite for this kind of research is much greater with the retail investor than the institutional investors … and we’re trying to change that.”
Her comments came during a recent interview on Anthony Pompliano’s podcast “Off the Chain” in which she revealed that some of the world’s top platforms (according to her research) will be built around “DNA sequencing.” Wood believes private firms and organizations are “going to bring real science into healthcare decision-making” which will help cure many diseases.
She also thinks the emerging Robotics industry including 3D printing will drive the next wave innovation and potentially introduce other paradigm-changing technologies. Additionally, Wood said energy storage solutions will make a significant impact on the future economy as entrepreneurs like Elon Musk have really helped in reducing the costs associated with developing and utilizing battery technology.
Nearly Impossible To Use The Traditional Financial System
Because of groundbreaking research led by Elon Musk, “by the early 2020s, the average electric vehicle will be cheaper than a gas-powered vehicle,” Wood revealed. Notably, she also predicted that blockchain technology will revolutionize how traditional business processes are managed and conducted. Commenting on the potential impact of distributed ledger technology (DLT), Wood remarked:
Blockchain represents such a profound change [from the way we’re doing things now] that people just do not understand … Last year, there were $1.4 trillion in transactions over the Bitcoin blockchain. The average size of the transaction was $15,000.
Unlike many other analysts who claim that cryptocurrencies are primarily used to finance illicit activities, Wood said in her interview that there are many other easier ways to conduct illegal transactions (although she did not specify what these were). Going on to elaborate on the inefficiencies in the traditional financial system, she noted:
It’s [nearly] impossible to convert from one traditional currency to the other. You have to go through the USD … [pay] up to 25% in commission fees. This is a huge unmet need. No financial infrastructure … You’ve got PayPal at half of that (there are also Venmo, Apple Pay).
Wood also pointed out that “Visa is not even an order of magnitude greater” when compared to the number of transactions it has processed to those settled on the Bitcoin blockchain.
