Cathie Wood’s ARK Blockchain & Fintech ETF gains 29% in 2025 on AI-focused strategy
In 2025, Cathie Wood’s ARK Blockchain & Fintech Innovation ETF recorded a 29% gain by broadening its holdings beyond traditional payment and crypto firms into areas such as artificial intelligence and streaming. Positions in Palantir Technologies, Roku, Robinhood and Shopify helped counter declines in Bitcoin, Coinbase and major payment stocks, while Circle’s June IPO initially surged before losing about 70% from its peak. Despite the strong fund performance and a brief inflow of over $600 million around September, overall investor flows into ARKF remained mostly flat for the year.