Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, recently expressed his strong support for cryptocurrencies and their potential to democratize investing. According to Fink, the world’s largest asset manager with over $8 trillion in assets, global investors are increasingly asking about digital assets.
In his view, cryptocurrencies have a “differentiating value” in helping diversify portfolios, as they are “so international it’s going to transcend any one currency”. Although Fink refrained from commenting on BlackRock’s application for a Bitcoin ETF in the United States, he did mention that the company is working with regulators to ensure the safety of any product with BlackRock’s name on it.
The SEC has rejected numerous Bitcoin ETF applications in the past, but BlackRock’s filing has sparked renewed hopes of approval, as the asset manager has only been rejected once out of 550 ETF applications. Fink believes that ETFs have a responsibility to democratize investing, and that we are only at the beginning of this process.
Other asset managers, such as Fidelity, Bitwise, 21Shares, WisdomTree and Investco, have also filed for similar ETF products in the United States. Meanwhile, Europe’s first spot Bitcoin ETF is set to debut later this year by London-based firm Jacobi Asset Management, after having been postponed due to the bear market.
In conclusion, Larry Fink’s remarks indicate that cryptocurrencies have an important role to play in democratizing investing worldwide, echoed by the increasing demand for digital assets.
