The CEO of BlackRock, Larry Fink, has continued to sing Bitcoin’s praises. Fink spoke about the growing demand he is witnessing for cryptocurrencies among gold clients in the Friday interview, asserting that crypto will, in the future, “transcend any one currency.”
Larry Fink Sees Immense Crypto Demand From Gold Investors
BlackRock boss Larry Fink sees a future where crypto serves as a universal asset.
During a Friday interview with CNBC’s Squawk on the Street, Fink stated that while he couldn’t talk about Bitcoin specifically as BlackRock had filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for permission to create a spot Bitcoin ETF, cryptocurrencies have “a differentiating value versus other asset classes.”
BlackRock, which is the world’s biggest asset manager with nearly $10 trillion — submitted its application for a spot crypto ETF last month, prompting institutional investors to pour capital into the sector and subsequently sparking a bull run that propelled Bitcoin to $12-month highs.
The BlackRock chief told CNBC that “more and more” gold investors had been enquiring about the role of crypto over the past five years, underscoring the role ETFs have had in democratizing access to gold, as they could do in crypto.
Moment Of Validation For Bitcoin
Larry Fink further observed that crypto is an international asset that has the potential to eclipse any other currency, as it is not linked to any particular country or government.
“More importantly, because it’s so international, it’s going to transcend any one currency in currency valuation,” he postulated, adding that an “international crypto product” can “transcend” the problem of dollar devaluation.
The SEC had already approved a couple of futures Bitcoin ETFs back in 2021. However, the securities regulator has declined to greenlight a spot Bitcoin ETF which would give more institutional investors access to BTC without the hassle of storage. This year alone, nearly half a dozen institutional giants, including the likes of BlackRock, Fidelity, BitWise, and WisdomTree have filed fresh spot Bitcoin ETF applications in hopes of finally becoming the first to launch such an investment vehicle in the United States.
These applicants included vital surveillance-sharing agreements in their filings, which could prove to be the deciding factor in the SEC finally okaying their spot BTC ETFs.
“We are working with our regulators because, as in any new market, if BlackRock’s name is going to be on it, we’re going to make sure that it’s safe and sound and protected,” Fink said during the CNBC interview.
Just last week, BlackRock’s Fink admitted that contrary to his opinion a few years ago, he now sees Bitcoin as “digitizing gold” and that it could “revolutionize finance”.
Validation from the leader of the biggest asset manager in the world could help with mass adoption, further entrenching Bitcoin in mainstream usage and public consciousness.
