Larry Fink, CEO of asset management firm BlackRock, said in a speech at the nonprofit body Council of Foreign Relations earlier this week that Bitcoin had “caught the attention and imagination of many people” and was poised to grow as an asset class.
The comments came as Bitcoin broke just above its all-time high price of nearly $19,800 on several crypto exchanges yesterday, before tumbling down to under $19,000. It has since crawled back over the line but has lost some momentum.
Fink noted that Bitcoin remains a niche market with a massive potential for upside. “Still untested, pretty small market relative to other markets,” he said.
He pointed out the asset’s infamous volatility (Bitcoin fell $900 in minutes just yesterday) but noted there was potential for upside. “It’s a thin market. Can it evolve into a global market? Possibly,” Fink stated.
Bitcoin Price Drops $900 in Minutes After Breaking New High
Bitcoin got within touching distance of the elusive $20,000 mark earlier today when its price suddenly fell $900 in less than 10 minutes. BTC trading opened at $19,695 on Binance today, after which Bitcoin’s price continued to grow, reaching as high as $19,888. However, the coin then suddenly dropped to $18,886—today’s lowest so far. Bitcoin's price was nearing $20,000 when it suddenly dropped. Image: Binance. As Decrypt reported, Bitcoin trading closed at the highest monthly price ever yesterda...
BlackRock, the world’s largest fund manager with $7.2 trillion in assets, caters to family offices, retail investors, fund managers, and pension funds. And while it has yet to dip its toes in the crypto market, some of the firm’s top executives have previously spoken positively about cryptocurrencies.
The upside predictions are not humble either. Just last month, BlackRock CIO Rick Rieder went as far as stating that Bitcoin could replace gold and was “here to stay,” adding the asset showed incredible staying power and was generally well received by millennials, as opposed to the yellow metal.
BlackRock CIO Says Bitcoin Could Replace Gold: 'It's Here to Stay'
Blackrock CIO Rick Rieder said today on CNBC that Bitcoin could replace gold—adding that's it's "here to stay." Bitcoin—and by some extension the wider cryptocurrency industry—has received praise from several high profile names in the traditional finance world in recent months. The likes of MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor and billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller are two of many who have become outspoken Bitcoin advocates. Now, it seems, Bitcoin has another fan. BlackRock’s CIO believes...
“Do I think it’s a durable mechanism, do I think it will take the place of gold to a large extent? Yeah, I do, because it’s so much more functional than passing a bar of gold around,” Rieder said at the time.
Meanwhile, while BlackRock’s yet to formally announce an exposure to Bitcoin, it does hold a small amount indirectly. The fund manager reportedly owns 15% of enterprise software firm MicroStrategy, which announced a mammoth $425 million investment in Bitcoin earlier this year.
That bet is already up by over 60%—a return that even BlackRock can't ignore.
