BlackRock’s Fink calls Bitcoin an ‘international asset’

Ever since BlackRock’s application for an exchange-traded fund (ETF) on Bitcoin, the world’s largest asset manager has been in the news quite often recently. This time, it’s CEO Larry Fink’s comments on the leading crypto that is attracting attention.

Backtracking from his previous stance, the CEO has now called Bitcoin an “international asset” which has the power to “revolutionise finance”. These comments were stated in an interview with Fox Business on Wednesday 5 July.

It was just a few years ago when Fink was noted saying that the asset class was heavily used for “illicit activities”. The then-crypto sceptic now believes that Bitcoin could be used as an alternative to gold as a hedge against inflation or even against currency devaluation.

If more assets and securities were tokenised, it could change the financial system, said the CEO, as he discussed the potential of cryptocurrencies and their role in investment portfolios. Fink added: “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.”

On 16 June 2023, the iShares unit of BlackRock filed for a spot Bitcoin ETF with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). While BlackRock is known for getting almost all of its ETFs approved by the financial watchdog, Fink wasn’t sure of the latest application’s fate.

At the time of press, the price of Bitcoin was changing hands for $31,196, aiming for its next resistance level at $31,300. Up by over 2.49% in the past day, the coin has been enjoying trading in the green in the last seven days. The overall crypto market has been trading at $1.21trillion today, up by 1.70%.