Ark Investment: Autonomous Vehicles to Boost GDP by $26 Trillion, Save Over 1M Lives by 2030

According to ARK Investment Management LLC, driverless cars are expected to revolutionise the global economy over the next 10 years and might impact GDP by as much as 20%. This huge shift is anticipated as a result of autonomous vehicles’ transformational potential to lower accident rates and lower transportation expenses.

The net GDP benefits from the introduction of autonomous taxis might be astounding, amounting to $26 trillion by 2030, or around 26% of the size of the US economy today. This economic shift is not just about numbers; it’s about lives saved.Between 30,000 and 35,000 lives might be saved by autonomous cars in the US, and 1.2 to 1.5 million lives worldwide.

While fewer accidents might lead to a GDP reduction of around $1 trillion per year due to decreased repairs, hospital stays, and insurance rates, the overall economic impact remains positive. The preservation of lives and reduction of injuries, coupled with the continued economic activity from employees who would otherwise be incapacitated, could contribute an additional $3 trillion to the global GDP annually.

The passenger experience in autonomous vehicles is set to change dramatically, with enhanced safety and newfound free time. This shift could lead to a global productivity uplift of approximately $17 trillion.

Due to their reduced running expenses and pricing, electric vehicles are predicted to take over the autonomous transportation market, which may result in a $1.2 trillion yearly drop in fuel and maintenance income for gas-powered vehicles.

The emergence of driverless taxis may cause a decline in the sale of personal vehicles in metropolitan areas, which would reduce GDP by almost $1.8 trillion annually. However, the estimated $1 trillion in sales of driverless vehicles to fleet operators may somewhat counterbalance this.

The transformation of unpaid driver activity into measured economic activity by autonomous cars could potentially generate around $9 trillion in service revenues annually. By 2030, personal autonomous travel could add a net $26 trillion to global GDP per year. This includes a potential increase of $30 trillion due to autonomous ride-hail service revenues and increased productivity, and a decrease of $4 trillion due to fewer accidents, lower gas-powered vehicle sales, and lower fuel and maintenance costs.

ARK projects that autonomous ride-hail could add around 2-3 percentage points to global GDP per year by 2030. This economic impact is anticipated to be greater than the combined boosts delivered by the steam engine, robots, and IT.

With global growth potentially nearly doubling from 3.3% per year to around 6% thanks to autonomous taxis, consumers are likely to be the biggest beneficiaries. Consumer purchasing power could increase as transportation costs drop, and time freed from unpaid driving could increase by around 10 weeks.

The autonomous vehicle revolution is not just about technology; it’s about reshaping the global economy and improving lives. As we move towards 2030, the impact of this transformative technology will become increasingly apparent.

Image source: Shutterstock

Source

Tagged : / / / / /

Bitcoin’s Dawn of the ETF Era: ARK Investment

According to a report by ARK Investment, in June 2023, Bitcoin experienced a resurgence in institutional sentiment, with the supply of Bitcoin that had remained unmoved for at least a year reaching an all-time high of approximately 70% of the circulating supply. This development suggests a strong holding pattern among Bitcoin investors, a trend that is likely to impact the cryptocurrency’s future trajectory.

The month also saw a narrowing of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust’s (GBTC) discount to Bitcoin’s net asset value (NAV), possibly due to Blackrock’s Bitcoin ETF application or indications that Grayscale had gained an edge during its trial against the SEC. This shift towards a one-year low in the GBTC’s discount to Bitcoin’s NAV could signal a growing institutional interest in the cryptocurrency.

Institutional activity in Bitcoin, as indicated by the balance of Bitcoin on OTC desks, hit a one-year high in June. This uptick in institutional activity coincides with BlackRock’s filing for a Bitcoin ETF, following ARK/21 Shares’ filing in April. The move by BlackRock, a global investment management corporation, suggests a growing acceptance of Bitcoin in traditional finance circles.

However, the global economy appears to be heading towards a recession, with recent data from the manufacturing sector indicating a decline in new orders in the Purchasing Managers’ Index, a proxy for future manufacturing activity. In 2022, the US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) declined for two consecutive quarters, implying a technical recession.

In other news, the SEC filed charges against Coinbase for operating as an unregistered securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency, and against Binance entities and founder Changpeng Zhao. Robinhood announced plans to delist tokens for Solana, Cardano, and Polygon after SEC suits named them as securities. Meanwhile, the Tether USDT stablecoin’s market cap climbed to an all-time high of $83.2B.

Despite these challenges, Bitcoin’s holder base and network activity remained strong in June, with active owners increasing by 9.1% and long-term holder supply increasing by 0.11%. These trends suggest a robust and resilient Bitcoin ecosystem, even in the face of potential economic downturns and regulatory hurdles.

Source

Tagged : / / /

Ark Investment: U.S. Crypto Innovation Threatened by Regulatory Ambiguity

Major trading firms in the United States, such as Jane Street Group and Jump Trading, are scaling back their involvement in the domestic crypto markets due to increasing regulatory uncertainties and associated risks. This retreat is causing a significant void in the once vibrant U.S. crypto landscape, which could deter interest from institutional investors.

According to recent repport of ARK Investment Management, a well-respected global asset manager and advocate of bitcoin, these developments are causing crypto liquidity in the U.S. to decrease substantially and leading to greater volatility in crypto prices. Data from CoinMetrics suggests that Bitcoin’s daily trading volume has fallen dramatically, from $20 billion per day in March to just about $4 billion last week.

This withdrawal is further evidenced by the gap in Bitcoin price on Binance.US, which last week was approximately $600 higher than on other exchanges, indicative of weakened price discovery in the U.S. market.

ARK Investment, which published a report on February predicting that Bitcoin could reach $1 million by 2030, has long recognized the potential of digital assets and has previously invested in cryptocurrency-related stocks such as Coinbase and GBTC. However, the firm has not maintained a consistent holding pattern, having sold some of its stakes at times.

The current atmosphere of regulatory uncertainty is a cause of concern not just for existing players, but also for potential new entrants in the crypto space. The United States, once considered a hub of innovation for the crypto industry, now risks losing its position to countries like the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Australia, and Switzerland, who are seen to provide more favorable and certain regulatory climates.

This evolving dynamic underscores the need for a more clarified regulatory framework in the U.S. for digital assets. As ARK Investment and others have warned, failure to address these concerns could result in the United States falling behind in the race to harness the transformative potential of this burgeoning industry.

Source

Tagged : / / /

ARK Investment Launches Its First Crypto Managed Account for RIAs

Independent managed account provider Eaglebrook Advisors has announced a partnership with Ark Invest to develop the ARK Cryptocurrency Strategy and ARK Crypto Asset Strategy.

Cathie Wood’s investment firm ARK Investment is launching its first crypto Separately Managed Account (SMA) for Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs).

SMAs are portfolios created by financial advisors or investment firms for individual investors, and the partnership will allow ARK to expand its services beyond exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Cathie Wood, Founder, CEO, and Chief Investment Officer of ARK said:

“Through our partnership with Eaglebrook, we now can offer actively managed crypto strategies to the wealth management industry. The strategies will be separately managed accounts (SMAs) designed to meet the needs of financial advisors, wealth managers, and their clients by offering direct ownership, low minimums, and portfolio reporting integration among other benefits.

Advisors can differentiate themselves and add to a client’s diversification by adding this new asset class to their portfolios. Our partnership combines Eaglebrook’s best-in-class technology-driven investment platform with ARK’s established digital asset experience to deliver a differentiated, turnkey investment solution.”

The partnership will see both crypto strategies actively managed by Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest available to clients of registered investment advisors as separately managed accounts.

ARK and Eaglebrook are jointly developing the ARK Cryptocurrency Strategy and ARK Crypto Asset Strategy, where the Cryptocurrency Strategy primarily invests in Bitcoin and Ethereum, and Ark’s Crypto Asset Strategy is designed to invest in smart contract networks, DeFi and Web3, infrastructure and Top 10 – 20 coins related to scaling.

“It’s a game-changer for the industry and another sign of mainstream adoption,” said Roddy Chisholm, chief operating officer at Eaglebrook Advisors.

In early September, Ark Investment Management LLC, owned by Cathie Wood, expanded its research arm as it seeks deeper development in various fields, including blockchain and AI.

Image source: Shutterstock

Source

Tagged : / / / / /

Ark Invest Expands Research Arm, Focusing on Blockchain Technology and AI

Ark Investment Management LLC, owned by Cathie Wood, escalated its team. The investment management firm plans to expand its research arm as it seeks deeper development in various fields, including blockchain.

Cathy Wood’s ARK Investment Management has promoted Brett Winton to chief futurist, put four senior research analysts on board, and hired five research assistants, according to official documents.

Brett Winton said:

“We believe that, collectively, artificial intelligence, robotics, energy storage, genomic sequencing, and blockchain technology will rise from less than 10% of the global public equity market capitalization to more than 60% by 2030, representing the largest period of value- creation in history.”

Winton said he would drive ARK’s long-term forecasts across convergent technologies, economies, and asset classes. ARK will dimension the impact of this unprecedented technological boom as it transforms public equities, private equities, crypto assets, fixed income, and the global economy.

ARK founder and CEO Cathie Wood believes this reorganization will expand the size of the team while enabling convergence between the technologies that create the S-curve and the S-curve.

Four senior research analysts got promoted to research directors, including Tasha Keeney, who leads financial modelling for the research team; Sam Korus, who directs the autonomous technology and robotics team; Simon Barnett, who studies life sciences; and Frank Downing, who focuses on Internet development.

In addition, ARK will hire five research assistants to focus on autonomous technology and robotics, digital health, next-generation internet and venture capital.

As the broader digital currency ecosystem tumbled across the board, as did the firm’s investment vehicles, shares in Ark Invest’s portfolio also plunged. The Ark Innovation ETF is down 57.74% so far this year.

Ark Invest also sold off $500,000 worth of Robinhood shares based on Tuesday’s closing price of $8.43 in July.

Image source: Shutterstock

Source

Tagged : / / / /

Rothschild Investment Corp has increased its Bitcoin exposure by 300% since April

Billion-dollar investment firm Rothschild Investment Corp quadrupled its exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) since April, new records show.

In a filing with the United States’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on July 17, Rothschild confirmed that it now owns 141,405 shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). 

Rothschild GBTC shares near 150,000

A quiet but nonetheless substantial player among institutions, Rothchild Investment Corp has also invested in Grayscale’s Ether (ETH) equivalent, the Grayscale Ethereum Trust.

Its exposure to Bitcoin has increased considerably this year, the filing shows — in April, its GBTC shares totaled 38,346.

In BTC terms, with each GBTC share equal to 0.000939767 BTC, Rothschild thus has an equivalent Bitcoin exposure of 132.8 BTC ($3.94 million).

The data implies that declining prices have not fazed executives, Bitcoin maintaining a drawdown for three months after hitting its all-time highs of $64,500 in mid May.

As Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein noted this week, institutional players are likely taking little notice of short-term price moves, instead concentrating on a much lower-time-preference strategy when it comes to cryptocurrency.

“Investors in this asset class are really not focused on… short-term movements in price,” he told CNBC.

“These are really investors looking at their allocations in the medium to long term, and so any volatility or dampening of volatility is not something anyone is fazed by.”

On Monday, ARK Invest purchased a reported 310,000 GBTC shares of its own, bringing its combined holdings to 8.81 million or 0.5% of its portfolio. At its peak, GBTC represented 0.9% of the ARK portfolio in late March.

ARK Invest GBTC holdings vs. GBTC price chart. Source: Cathie’s Ark

Good timing for Grayscale FUD?

As Cointelegraph reported, Grayscale is at the center of discussions this week as it unlocked over 16,000 BTC worth of GBTC shares on Sunday.

Related: Institutional demand for Bitcoin evaporates as BTC struggles below $31K

Concerns, while arguably unfounded, long abounded that the event would create downward Bitcoin price pressure, with the sharpening of the drawdown on Monday and Tuesday fuelling the fire.

Grayscale GBTC flows. Source: Bybt.com

Regardless, since GBTC investors cannot redeem shares for BTC and then sell for fiat currency, Bitcoin markets are in fact left out of the equation when it comes to unlockings.

Grayscale itself only sells a tiny amount of the Trust’s BTC holdings for fund management purposes.