BlackRock CEO Larry Fink shared his thoughts on the controversy that happened on Monday, which began with cryptocurrency media outlet Cointelegraph publishing the purported news of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approval of the asset manager’s much-awaited spot Bitcoin ETF.
According to Fink, the crypto rally that ensued represents a “flight to quality” driven by real economic factors, not false speculation.
Larry Fink Calls Bitcoin Rally ‘Flight To Quality’
The Monday false rumors that the SEC had approved BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF sparked a frenzy of excitement on the X platform that sent the flagship crypto’s price skyrocketing to $30,000.
A spot market Bitcoin ETF is somewhat of a holy grail for the cryptoverse, despite the fact that these products already trade in Canada and Europe. The reason has to do with the SEC blocking the dozens of requests it has seen so far, putting it out of reach for U.S. investors seeking Bitcoin exposure without the hassle of holding the crypto directly.
“It’s just an example of the pent-up interest in crypto,” BlackRock’s Fink posited during an interview with Fox Business. “This rally is way beyond rumor. I think the rally today is about a flight to quality.”
Looking to the future, he expects crypto to evolve into an important asset for investors, specifically as a safe haven during harsh economic times.
The CEO’s view is a particularly upbeat spin on the controversial event, which contributed to roughly $136 million worth of liquidations in the span of 24 hours. As ZyCrypto covered earlier, Cointelegraph retracted its post and BlackRock eventually debunked the rumor — causing BTC to fall from $30,000 to $28,000 levels.
The SEC also issued a statement saying: “Careful what you read on the internet. The best source of information about the SEC is the SEC.”
Bitcoin is currently changing hands at $28,475 as of publication time, a 2.4% gain over the last 24 hours.
Will The Monday Hoax Affect BTC ETF Approval Chances?
While Larry Fink stressed that Monday’s incident only affirmed the global demand and enthusiasm for a Bitcoin spot ETF amid ongoing international unrest, others in the crypto community did not see the situation as optimistically.
Observers like Bitfinexed have pointed out that the event could be used by SEC chairman Gary Gensler to show the high volatility of the Bitcoin market and how easy it is to be manipulated.
Well, now the SEC knows there was a fake Bitcoin Spot approval market manipulation pump that they can cite in the next spot Bitcoin ETF denial.
Which helps them deny the applications again because they can show manipulation of the underlying market.
Great job guys. https://t.co/1HtZPExJmc
— Bitfinex’ed
Κασσάνδρα
(@Bitfinexed) October 17, 2023
Despite BlackRock’s impeccable 99.8% ETF approval record, it’s still unclear how the SEC will decide on this, given that it hasn’t approved any previous BTC ETFs and is resolutely targeting leading crypto exchanges.
Furthermore, Bitcoin supporters fear the Monday pump-and-dump event likely dashed any hopes of a Bitcoin spot ETF being greenlighted for trading in the US in the near future.
