The CEO of Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, Larry Fink, says he is “very bullish on the long-term viability of Bitcoin.” Noting that he is “pleasantly surprised” by the demand for Blackrock’s spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), he emphasized that the Ishares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) is “the fastest growing ETF in the history of ETFs.”

Blackrock’s Larry Fink ‘Very Bullish’ on Bitcoin

Larry Fink, the chief executive of Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, reiterated his bullish stance on bitcoin in a Fox Business interview Wednesday. Blackrock launched its spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), the Ishares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), in early January after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved 11 spot bitcoin ETFs.

Fink affirmed:

I’m very bullish on the long-term viability of Bitcoin.

“We’re creating now a market that has more liquidity, more transparency, and I’m pleasantly surprised and I’d never have predicted it before we filed it that we were going to see this type of retail demand,” he described.

The Ishares Bitcoin Trust has raked in massive inflows since its debut. Its bitcoin holdings as of March 27 stood at 250,667.23810 BTC with a notional value of over $17.2 billion.

When asked whether he’d ever seen such a rapid influx of inflows into a fund as we have seen with the Blackrock spot bitcoin ETF, Fink replied:

IBIT is the fastest growing ETF in the history of ETFs. Nothing has gained assets as fast as IBIT in the history of ETFs.

Regarding whether there will be a spot ethereum (ETH) ETF, the Blackrock executive said: “We’ll see. That’s under registration.” Commenting on the SEC potentially classifying ether as a security, Fink opined: “I don’t think that designation is going to be that deleterious to an ETF.” When asked whether an ETF can be launched even if ether is classified as a security, Fink responded: “I think so.” Blackrock currently has an application pending at the SEC for a spot ether ETF.

Fink has become a vocal proponent of bitcoin. Admitting that three years ago he was a “naysayer,” he revealed in January: “About two years ago, I switched … in the last few years, I’m a big believer … I do believe it is an alternative source for wealth holding.” The Blackrock chief added: “If you’re in a country where you’re fearful of your future, fearful of your government, or you’re frightened that your government is devaluing its currency by too much deficits, you can say this is a great potential long-term store of value. Like I said, it’s like digital gold.”

Source : Bitcoin News by Kevin Helms / Mar 29, 2024