BlackRock CEO: "Bitcoin is a Real Financial Tool"

BlackRock's asset management titan Larry Fink continues to heap praise on the world's largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin.

CEO BlackRock: "Bitcoin is a Real Financial Tool". Photo: CNBC

In an interview with U.S. television channel CNBC on July 15, Larry Fink, the founder and CEO of the world's largest asset management firm BlackRock, continued to extol the virtues of Bitcoin, suggesting it should be part of everyone's personal portfolio.

Fink admitted to previously harboring doubts about Bitcoin but has since completely reversed his stance on the digital currency. He stated:

"I used to be skeptical about Bitcoin. But after researching it, I have to admit that what I've known about it over the past 5 years has been incorrect."

Furthermore, BlackRock's CEO called Bitcoin a useful investment in times of financial market fear. Fink also suggested that if investors believe their national governments are attempting to devalue fiat currencies through inflationary policies, then Bitcoin presents an opportunity for them to regain financial control. He shared:

"I don't deny that [Bitcoin] can be misused, but it has proven to be a real financial tool that allows you to profit without being correlated to other asset markets."

Fink views Bitcoin as an investment tool to showcase investment acumen rather than as a tool for trust, unless investors believe they can profit from it. He believes Bitcoin will have a useful role in finance, which many have yet to fully recognize.

Fink also reiterated his previous comparison of Bitcoin to "digital gold."

BlackRock, a major Wall Street player, successfully proposed launching a Bitcoin spot ETF in January this year, and since then, it has consistently held the position as the largest BTC ETF fund with assets valued at $18.2 billion USD.

Growth statistics of BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF IBIT. Source: sosovalue (16/07/2024)

Additionally, BlackRock has ventured further into the crypto space by collaborating with Securitize to establish the BUIDL tokenized securities fund, recently surpassing $500 million USD in assets, ranking first in the RWA sector.

Eric Balchunas, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg, called BlackRock CEO's endorsement of Bitcoin on mainstream U.S. media a highly positive signal. This reassurance is particularly comforting for middle-aged investors who have concerns about the volatility of digital assets like BTC potentially entering their portfolios through ETF products.

Moreover, Larry Fink's interview video was shared by Michael Dell, founder of Dell Technologies, whose assets exceed $108 billion USD. Dell had expressed interest in Bitcoin on social media platform X (Twitter) at the end of June, although it's unclear whether the billionaire has invested in it.

As reported by Coin68, Bitcoin spot ETF funds recorded six consecutive days of inflows last week totaling $1.19 billion USD in purchases, helping BTC recover to nearly $65,000 USD on the morning of July 16 and erasing losses from the dip to $53,500 USD earlier this month.