BlackRock CEO Labels Bitcoin as International Asset as Firm Awaits Approval for BTC ETF Listing

In a hopeful vision for the future, Fink has advised US regulators to work with the crypto industry players and create a systematic ecosystem.

Written by Radhika Parashar, Edited by Manas Mitul | Updated: 6 July 2023 15:12 IST

BlackRock CEO Labels Bitcoin as International Asset as Firm Awaits Approval for BTC ETF Listing

Photo Credit: Facebook/ BlackRock

As of 2022, BlackRock had $8.7 trillion worth of assets under its management

Highlights

BlackRock is touted as the world's biggest asset manager
Larry Fink has called Bitcoin is an international asset
In June, BlackRock filed for a spot BTC ETF in the US

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has extended a strong support to the overall cryptocurrency sector as his firm awaits approval to list a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States. In a recent interview with Fox Business, the 70-year-old billionaire said cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin will revolutionise the fintech sector as we know and use today. Fink's statement contributed to today's crypto sector performance with BTC trading at $30,448 (roughly Rs. 25 lakh) and the overall crypto market valuation standing at $1.19 trillion (roughly Rs. 98,11,514 crore).

Crypto assets will be used to digitise gold, Fink said in his statement. In a suggestion to the US regulators, Fink said that ETF filings could democratise cryptocurrencies because investors will have an option to choose BTC, or other crypto assets could be used as a hedge against inflation.

“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,” the veteran finance mogul can be heard saying in a clipping, shared by MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor, who himself is a BTC enthusiast.

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#Bitcoin is an International Asset. - Larry Fink, BlackRock CEO pic.twitter.com/WIVKITXYPj
— Michael Saylor:zap:️ (@saylor) July 5, 2023

Fink's comments resemble the opinions of Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of stablecoin issuer Circle Pay, who recently said that stablecoins can digitise the US dollar to overcome what Allaire described as, an ongoing ‘de-dollarisation' in the market. When other countries in the world begin to reduce their dependency on the US dollar as a reserve currency or a medium of exchange, that process is called ‘de-dollarisation'.

Allaire said the US could lay out guidelines around the permissible use-cases of US dollar-backed stablecoins, that will help boost investment in the dollar by the international Web3 community.

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In a hopeful vision for the future, Fink has advised US regulators to work with the crypto industry players and create a systematic ecosystem.

“We could be working with our regulators and get the filing approved one day, and I have no idea what that one day will be, but we'll see how that all plays out,” Fink said.

As of 2022, BlackRock, touted as the world's biggest asset manager, had $8.7 trillion (roughly Rs. 7,17,84,570 crore) worth of assets under its management.

In June, the company's iShares Bitcoin Trust filed for a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) that would allow investors to get exposure to the cryptocurrency.

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are financial products that are regulated and can represent a wide array of different assets. An ETF also keeps track of the price fluctuations of an underlying asset, giving people an alternative to extract profits from the price trend of the asset without really owning even one unit of it.

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Further reading: Cryptocurrency, BlackRock CEO, ETF, Exchange Traded Fund

Radhika Parashar

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Radhika Parashar is a senior correspondent for Gadgets 360. She has been reporting on tech and telecom for the last three years now and will be focussing on writing about all things crypto. Besides this, she is a major sitcom nerd and often replies in Chandler Bing and Michael Scott references. For tips or queries you could reach out to her at RadhikaP@ndtv.com. More