The CEO of Blackrock, the largest asset manager in the world, says he is fascinated by cryptocurrency and believes it could become a ‘large asset class’. However, he said that Blackrock did not receive many inquiries from its institutional clients about bitcoin in their portfolios.
Blackrock CEO ‘Fascinates’ with Crypto
Following Coinbase’s IPO via a live listing on Nasdaq, Blackrock CEO Larry Fink was asked in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday whether his views on cryptocurrency had changed. Blackrock is the world’s largest asset manager, with more than $ 8.7 trillion in assets under management.
“I’m still fascinated by it,” he begins. ‘I’m encouraged by how many people focus on it. I was encouraged about the narration. It can become an amazing asset class. He emphasizes: “I believe it can become a good asset class, cryptocurrency.” However, the executive noted: ‘I do not believe it is a substitute for currencies. I think we are going to have crypto-currencies of dollars, cryptocurrencies of other currencies. ”
The CEO of Blackrock expanded:
I do not believe we should think of crypto as a substitute for currencies. I’m fascinated by it as an asset class.
He explained: ‘I’m still watching … We’re investing in it … We’re studying it. We made money from it. “Nevertheless, he revealed:” Our investors worldwide, we do not have much research on it. “
Fink was specifically asked if Blackrock’s institutional clients were asking him about bitcoin and cryptocurrencies regarding exposure in their portfolios, because that is the narrative the market has focused on, including the valuation of Coinbase.
“We’re not having those conversations,” he confirmed, but quickly added that “maybe they’re talking to someone else.” He said: ‘I do not want to suggest that we have perfect information, but our broad customer relationships; we had very little interconnectivity about the crypto conversation other than a fascination. ‘
He further believes: ‘The amount of conversations we have about climate risk and how they can navigate their portfolios is an important part of the conversation. The conversation about deficits and the conversation about inflation risk is far more prevalent for our clients worldwide than the whole conversation about crypto. ‘
The Blackrock CEO remarked: ‘We have not had any discussions around Reddit and Gamestop and what that means with our customers, and yet it is an important component of the markets. It’s fascinating to watch. ”
Finally, Fink said:
I therefore believe that there is a component of the financial markets about crypto that is real, that is growing. But if you are specifically asking about long-term investment, from sovereign wealth funds, from pension funds, from retirement services, from large family offices, the conversation about crypto is a very small conversation compared to other conversations.
In November last year, Rick Rieder, Blackrock’s chief investment officer at Global Fixed Income, said that ‘cryptocurrency is here to stay’ and that bitcoin could replace gold. In December, Fink said bitcoin was making the US dollar less relevant, pointing out that cryptocurrency could develop into a global market. Blackrock then revealed in February that he had started investing in bitcoin.
What do you think of what Fink said about cryptocurrency? Let us know in the comments below.
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