Cathie Wood Warns Investors to Follow AI Agents' Spending Habits

Cathie Wood, CEO of ARK Invest, has introduced a new investment strategy: 'follow the agents.' Wood argues that as artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly autonomous, investors should track where these AI agents spend their money.

This approach is a departure from Wood's previous advice to 'follow the developers,' who were seen as an early indicator of technology adoption. Now, AI agents can select software, purchase data, access computing resources, and execute financial transactions, potentially creating a new source of demand for technology platforms and payment networks.

The distinction is crucial for crypto investors, who are wondering whether stablecoins and blockchains will become the preferred financial infrastructure for AI agents or whether most machine-driven commerce will stay on card networks and other conventional payment systems.

AI agents can create a different signal than developers, as they can evaluate competing services repeatedly and at machine speed. If enough agents begin making decisions, their transaction patterns could reveal which digital infrastructure is winning real usage.