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(Kitco News) - BlackRock CEO Larry Fink is growing increasingly bullish on Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies following Thursday’s court ruling that XRP is not considered a security, and noted that interest from global investors has been steadily increasing for five years.
During a Friday appearance on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street following BlackRock’s second-quarter earnings report, Fink said “more and more” global investors have been inquiring about digital assets over the past five years and highlighted the role that exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have had in democratizing access to gold, which could be replicated in crypto.
These comments follow Fink’s comments to Fox News Business on Wednesday, where he said that he believes “the role of crypto is digitalizing gold, in many ways, instead of investing in gold as a hedge against the onerous problems of any one country. Let’s be clear—Bitcoin is an international asset.”
While speaking with CNBC, Fink noted that, due to his firm’s spot BTC ETF application, he is not permitted to mention Bitcoin, so he used the word ‘crypto’ instead.
“If you look at the value of our dollar, how it depreciated in the last two months and how much it appreciated over the last five years ... an international crypto product can really transcend that,” he said. “That's why we believe there's great opportunities and that's why we're seeing more and more interest. And the interest is broad-based [and] worldwide.”
BlackRock helped reignite momentum in the crypto market in June when it filed a spot BTC ETF application with the SEC, becoming the highest-profile company to date to attempt to secure the approval of such a product for U.S. markets.
The addition of Coinbase as the exchange for the ETF’s surveillance sharing agreement (SSA) is viewed by many as the last piece that was needed for the SEC to finally approve a spot BTC ETF after having denied more than a dozen previous applications.
“We are working with our regulators because, as in any new market, if BlackRock’s name is going to be on it, we’re going to make sure that it’s safe and sound and protected,” Fink said. He added that the firm's move into crypto fits into their broader mission of creating products that are easy to use and cheap for investors.
“We believe we have a responsibility to democratize investing. We’ve done a great job, and the role of ETFs in the world is transforming investing. And we’re only at the beginning of that,” Fink said.
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He also highlighted that crypto can add a new dimension of diversification to investor portfolios, which may come in handy in the event of a major global recession. “It has a differentiating value versus other asset classes, but more importantly, because it’s so international it’s going to transcend any one currency,” Fink said.
BlackRock’s second-quarter results show the firm earned $9.28 in adjusted earnings per share on $4.46 billion in revenue. The company said it now has more than $9 trillion in assets under management.
