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Cathie Wood’s flagship Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) has been on a rather bumpy ride over the past six months. With tech falling out of favor and geopolitical pressures dragging down the entire market, it should be no surprise to see shares of the Ark Innovation ETF back in a bear market, now down close to 26% from its 52-week high just shy of $93 per share.
As usual, though, Cathie Wood has been busy, not panicking as some other investors might be, but buying the dip, which, I think, could give her line of exchange-traded funds a massive jolt once tech is viewed favorably again.
Cathie Wood isn’t giving up on the top crypto infrastructure plays
Of late, Ark Invest has really warmed up to mega-cap tech, and while some chips may have been taken off the table of crypto infrastructure plays, like Block (NASDAQ:XYZ), the flagship Ark Innovation ETF still grants investors a decent seat to the future of the crypto asset class.
Of course, there are challenges ahead for crypto and Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC), especially with uncertainties surrounding statements recently made by Google, which warned that quantum computers could crack Bitcoin encryption. If you’re a Bitcoin investor, that’s a bit unsettling to hear. Before you liquidate your crypto portfolio, though, Wood argues that such a “quantum threat” isn’t going to happen anytime soon and that there’s no need to rush for the exits quite yet.
With Bitcoin recently retreating alongside most other assets, including gold, perhaps going for the top crypto infrastructure plays could be a worthy move. As the “tokenized asset” trend moves ahead, crypto infrastructure could continue to stay hot for investors looking to bet on the future of finance.
Crypto infrastructure innovation could get interesting as we enter the agentic AI age
As agentic AI and AI shopping look to take off, perhaps crypto could get a boost as a scenario that sees agents transacting in crypto to minimize costs (one outlined in the recent Citrini report) looks to pan out in the coming years.
Whether agents cause a collapse in transaction costs remains the big question. Either way, crypto may very well be the main currency that AI agents of the future prefer to keep costs low and to cut higher-fee processors out of the equation. With such an AI-driven tailwind and the threat of quantum, I understand the bull and bear cases for crypto assets. Either way, some very forward-thinking crypto infrastructure firms, such as Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN | COIN Price Prediction), Circle (NASDAQ:CRCL), and Block, are very well-represented in Wood’s flagship ETF.
Whether we’re talking about Coinbase’s x402 protocols and agentic wallets, Circle’s solid stablecoin base with USDC, which may very well be the go-to for agents looking to spend money, or Block’s impressive vertical stack of crypto infrastructure, the three names stand out as firms that are leading the way for crypto in 2026 and beyond.
The bottom line
As agentic commerce becomes big in the coming quarters, it’s going to be very interesting to see how agents choose to transact. If a Citrini scenario does play out, let’s just say I wouldn’t be surprised if Bitcoin and anything related, like the crypto infrastructure plays, get a shot in the arm. Shares of Coinbase, Circle, and Block are oversold and might just help the Ark Innovation ETF make up for lost time in the second half of the year.
