BlackRock CEO: Wall Street's Biggest Bitcoin Believer
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BlackRock CEO: Wall Street's Biggest Bitcoin Believer
Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, the world's largest asset management company, is a staunch supporter of Bitcoin (BTC).
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsBy: Daniel Kuhn @Consensus Magazine
Translation: Qin Jin @Carbon Value Chain
Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock—the world's largest asset manager—is now one of Bitcoin’s (BTC) most influential advocates. Although his conversion to Bitcoin came relatively late, he has quickly become one of its most prominent supporters. This year, BlackRock shocked the world by announcing its application for a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). It is no exaggeration to say that BlackRock’s unexpected move reignited widespread interest in cryptocurrency investment vehicles—many of which were previously seen as doomed to fail. Even if approved, its iShares Bitcoin Trust would still be just one among hundreds of ETFs it manages.
For years, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has hesitated to approve spot Bitcoin ETFs, partly due to concerns about market maturity and manipulation. (The U.S. already allows ETFs based on Bitcoin futures, but spot ETFs would give investors more direct exposure to Bitcoin itself.) As one of Wall Street’s leading financial institutions, BlackRock’s expressed interest helps legitimize these efforts and signals potential market demand. Following BlackRock’s lead, other traditional financial firms—including Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, and VanEck—as well as crypto-native firms like Bitwise and Hashdex, have filed applications for their own Bitcoin ETFs.
Bitcoin ETFs matter because they allow broader institutional access to Bitcoin without requiring direct ownership. Investors could gain exposure through shares in products like BlackRock’s iShares or WisdomTree’s BTCW. This means both retail and institutional investors could invest in Bitcoin via 401(k)s or index funds. Moreover, the structure of a spot Bitcoin ETF could increase buying pressure on BTC if consumer interest emerges, potentially driving up its price.
In an October interview with Fox Business, Fink said BlackRock clients are showing strong interest in cryptocurrencies, and the firm is working to make this asset class more “democratized.” He described recent market momentum as a “flight to quality” among currencies and predicted that cryptocurrencies will “outperform” global currencies in the coming months.
Fink also stated that Bitcoin—as an open, verifiable, and borderless currency—could become an increasingly important financial tool. Notably, Fink once aligned himself with “Jamie Dimon’s camp”—a reference to the JPMorgan Chase CEO who is a well-known crypto skeptic—and previously claimed the world doesn’t need “a new international currency.” Some of his views remain consistent; while he once warned Bitcoin might undermine the dollar’s status as a reserve currency, he now sees value in that very proposition.
Fink’s shift is significant, especially as many in traditional finance are reevaluating blockchain technology—particularly the “tokenization” of real-world assets like stocks and bonds. Yet Fink’s interest lies directly in cryptocurrencies themselves. In August 2022, BlackRock announced plans to offer cryptocurrency trading on its Aladdin investment platform. The firm has also filed for an Ethereum ETF.
BlackRock’s motivations are understandable, though little is known about the internal mechanics driving its entry into this space. Notably, the firm named Coinbase as its third-party service provider in its filing—a choice that may signal it has found a solution to meet the SEC’s regulatory requirements, one that many other applicants have since emulated. There is speculation that Fink and SEC Chair Gary Gensler may have privately discussed the ETF listing, and that Fink’s actions reflect a reasonable expectation that approval could come sooner rather than later.
Whether or not BlackRock launches the first iShares Bitcoin ETF, one thing is clear: Fink genuinely believes in Bitcoin’s value.
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