Ark Invest CEO: Blockchain tech remains a big trend in 2022

• Wood says blockchain technology is one of five trends alongside DNA sequencing, energy storage, AI and Robotics

• She says DeFI and NFTs were huge in 2021 and could continue on the same trajectory this year.

ARK Invest founder and chief executive officer Cathie Wood says that blockchain technology is one of the five key trends her investment fund is watching in 2022.

The celebrity investor, whose bets on Bitcoin and Tesla made for huge returns, believes two trends in the blockchain tech space likely to continue to see massive investor interest are decentralised finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Wood was speaking to TIME magazine.

Blockchain remains a ‘big trend’ in 2022

Asked about what trends Ark Invest was watching this year, Wood pointed to “five innovation platforms.” According to her, these are areas around which the fund has extensive research and which have been shown to be “scaling exponentially.”

She says that DNA sequencing is one innovation that will transform healthcare, while another closely watched platform is Robotics, “especially adaptive robotics, she added.

Energy storage is another big trend the investment fund is keen on in 2022, with the Ark Invest CEO giving the nod to electric vehicles over gas-powered ones. Tesla has led in this category, with other automakers like Rivian, GM, and Ford also seeing significant demand in 2021.

Investment opportunities in the Artificial Intelligence space are also big on the fund’s books, as is blockchain technology.

Wood told TIME that decentralised finance and non-fungible tokens are likely to continue being huge for investors. She believes one of the trends in 2022 will be DeFi taking over a large part of the market share currently dominated by traditional financial.

Last year, an estimated $44 billion worth of NFTs were sold, while the DeFi sector saw over $240 billion in total value locked (TVL). Per data from DeFi Llama, the TVL currently stands at $235.88 billion, with 9.87% of that locked in the Curve Finance protocol.