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BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said he has changed from being a “proud skeptic” of bitcoin (BTC-USD) to someone who sees the cryptocurrency as having a place in people’s portfolios.
Fink, who has previously expressed an evolving stance on the digital currency, outlined his view during an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” program on Monday, during which bitcoin (BTC-USD) hit a roughly two-week high above $63,000.
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) “is a legitimate financial instrument that allows you to have uncorrelated, non-correlated type of returns,” Fink said in an interview on the same day BlackRock (BLK) posted Q2 earnings and revenue that exceeded Wall Street expectations. It also said assets under management rose by $1.2T to $10.6T year-over-year. BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, runs the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT).
“I’m a major believer that there is a role for bitcoin in porfolios,” he said, adding the label “digital gold” to the cryptocurrency valued at $1.26T. “I believe it is an instrument that you invest in when you’re more frightened, though … when you believe that countries are debasing their currency by excess deficits,” he said. Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is also for people seeking an investment vehicle that’s outside a country’s control, he said.
In 2017, Fink called bitcoin (BTC-USD) an “index of money laundering” at an Institute of International Finance meeting, but has warmed up to it over the years. In 2020, he told the Council on Foreign Relations it was possible that bitcoin (BTC-USD) could “evolve” into a global market asset.
Fink told CNBC on Monday that he “was a proud skeptic,” about bitcoin, but after studying it determined that his opinion about it was “wrong”.
Other bitcoin-backed ETFs include (GBTC), (ARKB) and (BITB).
