14 Big Ideas for 2023: Why Crypto is Here to Stay

Ark Invest is an investment management firm focused on innovative technologies and disruptive trends. In its 2023 report, Ark Invest outlines its views on the 14 sectors it believes will experience exponential growth in the coming years. The 14 big ideas, according to the report, are:

1. Technological convergence

Multiple technologies interact with each other to bring exponential growth. The report states they are in five categories and will be worth $200 trillion by 2030. The tech that will converge are cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence, genetic sequencing, robotics, and energy storage. The most significant part of those technologies is neural networks, also known as AI.

2. Artificial Intelligence/AI

This will increase productivity as workers rely on AI to help with repetitive tasks. Companies like Microsoft and Google could be big players in AI as they can access large amounts of data.

3. Digital consumers

People will spend more time online, assumingly consuming short-form content. Gaming will be more popular due to immersive gaming experiences. NFT will increase in popularity due to gaming.

4. Digital wallet

According to the report, 65% of the planet’s population will use digital wallets by 2030 compared to the 40% who use digital wallets today.

The numbers started rising during the pandemic and are going up.

Digital wallets enable direct payments by eliminating intermediaries. This will create high profits for digital wallet providers at the expense of traditional finance. Closed-loop transactions are already common in China and will be worldwide with time.

5. Public Blockchains/cryptocurrencies

The crypto Market has lost a significant percentage of its market cap due to calamities such as the collapse of FTX.

Three technological revolutions are driven by cryptocurrency; the money revolution, the financial revolution, and the internet revolution.

The report predicts that the total market cap of cryptocurrency will be $25 trillion in 2030.

6. Bitcoin

The report’s authors predict that one BTC will be worth $1 million by 2030 if we go by the total crypto market cap predictions.

They also highlight that BTC’s fundamentals are better than ever, e.g., institutional investors’ adoption, etc.

7. Smart contracts

Smart contracts are the ideal alternative to all the centralized intermediaries in crypto that failed last year. It is hard for decentralization to work without smart contracts. Smart contracts act as a hedge in different activities such as DeFi, decentralized borrowing, lending, decentralized exchanges, etc.

8. Precision Therapies

Precision therapies are different as they are patient-centric and target the root cause of disease, not symptoms. This does not mean root causes like poor lifestyle but technologies like artificial intelligence, AI, DNA and RNA sequencing, CRISPR Gene editing, and laboratory automation. It involves giving recommendations that are specifically tailored to your genetics.

The authors reveal that Gene editing is close to going mainstream.

9. Molecular cancer diagnostics

Early diagnosis means early treatment, which means a lower chance that people die from cancer.

Advances in molecular technology also mean you can test someone for cancer using non-invasive means. These advancements in testing will also make it easier to detect cancer recurrence. It could lead to 20% year-on-year profits for cancer-related Industries until 2030.

10. Electric Vehicles

The report suggests that supply constraints could make it hard for the EV market to grow beyond a certain point.

Global automakers have investment plans to introduce EVs. If petrol cars are outlawed, a disconnect in supply and demand could make the costs of producing Evs high.

So far, sales of EVS have been exponential compared to expectations.

11. Autonomous ride-hail or autonomous Transportation

In the report, statistics show that the cost of traveling one mile has stayed the same in 100 years when adjusted for inflation. The costs will finally come down with autonomous vehicles. It will be an excellent alternative for those who cannot afford EVs.

Autonomous taxis are already here, and their numbers are growing with time.

12. Autonomous Logistics

It means automated delivery. Drones and robots will increase in numbers making everything cheaper. Autonomous trucks will eventually become cheaper than trains for supply chain purposes.

13. Robotics and 3D printing

These industries could grow from 70 billion to over 9 trillion by 2030.

Amazon is leading when it comes to 3D printing. 3D printing will be used in every industry but is currently facing setbacks due to the cost of materials, a shortage of qualified personnel, and design issues.

14. Orbital Aerospace

It means all space-related technology. There are reusable rockets that will rapidly reduce space exploration costs, courtesy of companies like SpaceX.

Reusable rockets will also reduce the cost of sending satellites to space for global networks. The cost of space-based global networks will continue to fall, making the internet affordable for everyone. Reusable Rockets will make hypersonic flight more affordable.

Also published here.