Cathie Wood is pointing investors toward a different way of thinking about where crypto's biggest opportunities have emerged this cycle.
"Follow the developers, as always, and get as close to the end user as possible!" the ARK Invest CEO wrote on X on Aug. 18, endorsing research from ARK analyst Lorenzo Valente on where crypto businesses actually generated revenue in 2025.
Valente's analysis estimated that centralized crypto companies produced roughly $70 billion in annual revenue, compared with about $8 billion for on-chain protocols and blockchains, or about 8.5 times more.
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The numbers help explain Wood's point. Valente found that exchanges and brokers accounted for the majority of centralized crypto revenue, while stablecoin issuers represented another sizable share.
His argument is that businesses that control distribution, trading and the customer relationship have been better positioned to monetize crypto adoption.
Crypto's revenue gap is showing up in earnings
Crypto prices have been under pressure through much of 2026, weighing on trading activity and hurting one of the main revenue engines for major exchanges.
Even so, recent earnings suggest some platforms are finding growth outside their core trading businesses.
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Gemini said on Aug. 13 that its exchange revenue fell sharply as crypto trading weakened, yet total revenue still rose 37% year over year to $45.5 million, supported by businesses including credit cards and staking.
Bullish showed a similar split between weak market conditions and stronger underlying business trends. The exchange reported a $280 million second-quarter net loss, yet adjusted revenue increased 62% to $92.6 million.
Bullish shares surged nearly 12% after the Aug. 13 earnings report on those positives, despite the headline loss.
That contrast fits Valente's broader argument. Centralized crypto businesses may still be exposed to falling token prices and weaker trading volumes, but exchanges with multiple revenue streams can continue generating growth even during a softer market.
The picture is not universal, however. Valente acknowledged that his industry estimates rely partly on assumptions for private companies, while different methodologies can produce different figures for on-chain revenue.