6-7-2023 (NEW YORK) In a recent interview with Fox Business, Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, referred to Bitcoin as an “international asset” and suggested that investors could buy Bitcoin instead of gold to hedge against inflation.
Fink stated that the role of cryptocurrency is to digitize gold in many ways, and BlackRock’s aim is to make it more democratized and cheaper for investors. He added that BlackRock has a good track record of working closely with regulators in the past on ETF applications, and he hopes this latest application for a spot Bitcoin ETF will be approved.
Fink had previously been skeptical of cryptocurrency because of its association with illicit activities, but he has since changed his view. He now believes that Bitcoin is an international asset and can represent an alternative investment option.
BlackRock filed an application to create a spot Bitcoin ETF last month, which was followed by several other traditional finance firms, including Fidelity. While BlackRock has a good record of getting ETFs approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the agency has never accepted an application for a spot Bitcoin ETF.
BlackRock faced a setback last week when the SEC called its application inadequate, according to the Wall Street Journal. However, on Monday, Nasdaq resubmitted BlackRock’s ETF application, signaling its determination to get the product approved.
Bitcoin’s price has been trending upward in recent weeks, hitting a 52-week high at the end of June and mostly holding above $30,000 since then. As of Wednesday afternoon, Bitcoin was trading down about 1%, near $30,500.
