Fink believes that a spot Bitcoin ETF has the potential to be as revolutionary for the financial sector in general as traditional ETFs were for the mutual fund industry.
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink on Wednesday, July 5, stated that crypto, Bitcoin in particular, has the potential to revolutionize the financial system. This was during an interview with Fox Business to discuss the asset manager’s recent spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Fink was previously in opposition of the cryptocurrency, decrying its potential for use in “illicit activities”. That stance has recently shifted, with the CEO calling Bitcoin an “international asset” and revealing that BlackRock intends to make it cheaper and more convenient to invest in the top cryptocurrency. Fink hopes that regulators will view the recent ETF filings as a way to “democratize crypto”.
The asset management firm, which reported over $9 trillion in assets under management in the first quarter of 2023, filed for a spot Bitcoin ETF on June 16 through its iShares unit. The filing prompted a host of other firms to present their own applications for a similar product with the regulator. The flurry of activity resulted in green charts for the cryptocurrency which surged by over 12% in June and is currently up over 85% year-to-date according to MarketWatch data. The asset manager also tagged Coinbase Global Inc. for market surveillance.
“We do believe that if we can create more tokenization of assets and securities – that’s what Bitcoin is – it could revolutionize finance,” he said during the interview, adding: “Instead of investing in gold as a hedge against inflation, a hedge against the onerous problems of any one country, or the devaluation of your currency whatever country you’re in – let’s be clear, Bitcoin is an international asset, it’s not based on any one currency and so it can represent an asset that people can play as an alternative.”
Fink believes that a spot Bitcoin ETF has the potential to be as revolutionary for the financial sector in general as traditional ETFs were for the mutual fund industry. It remains unclear when the SEC will announce its decision on the filing.
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