BlackRock (BLK) CEO Larry Fink said in an interview with Fox Business on Wednesday that cryptocurrencies, specifically Bitcoin (BTC), have the potential to revolutionize the financial system. .
“We believe that the further tokenization of assets and securities, which Bitcoin is, has the potential to revolutionize finance,” he said. Fink, who was previously known to be skeptical of cryptocurrencies, suggested several years ago that crypto enthusiasts frequently use them for “illicit activities.”
Mr. Fink continued: “Rather than investing in gold as a hedge against inflation, a hedge against a country’s troubles, or a hedge against the devaluation of its currency in any country, let me be clear: Bitcoin is an international asset. , it can represent an asset that people can play as an alternative currency because it is not based on a single currency.”
On June 16, BlackRock's iShares division filed an application for a Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). While BlackRock has a near-perfect track record of getting ETFs approved by the SEC, Fink could not say when the Bitcoin ETF would receive approval.
“As before, we will work with the regulators and hope that one day the application will be approved. We don't know what that day will be, but we will see how it develops. Let's look at.”
The CEO of the $8.5 trillion asset management company's apparent bullish stance has had little impact on the price of Bitcoin, which is trading little changed at just under $30,500.
