According to Blackrock CEO Larry Fink, the world’s largest asset manager, with $9.5 trillion in assets under management, expects “very little” demand for cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, in the near future.
Larry Fink, CEO of Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, discussed bitcoin on CNBC Wednesday, as his company reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit. Assets under management at Blackrock increased to a record $9.49 trillion in the second quarter, up from $7.32 trillion a year ago.
Fink reiterated his earlier attitude on Bitcoin, saying: “Again, in my last two weeks of business travel, not one question had been asked about that. That is just not part of the focus on retirement and long-term investors.” Additionally, the CEO stated:
We see relatively little investor demand for those types of investments. However, they may not come to Blackrock for such demand.
“But, I would say for all the pension funds and the insurance companies, for all the RIAs that we are talking to for their clients on behalf of their retirement, the dialogue is about how should I navigate my portfolio, how should I think about my portfolio over a long horizon.”
While Blackrock’s CEO has stated repeatedly that his asset management firm does not anticipate a need for cryptocurrencies among its clients, he is not pessimistic about cryptocurrency’s future potential.
Fink stated in December last year that bitcoin diminishes the US dollar’s relevance and “has the potential to evolve into a global market.”
Blackrock’s top investment officer stated in November that cryptocurrency is here to stay and that bitcoin might eventually supplant gold. In March, another Blackrock employee stated that gold is less effective as an inflation hedge than bitcoin, and in April, Fink stated that cryptocurrency had the potential to become a “great asset class.”
In February, Blackrock began investing in bitcoin. Blackrock held bitcoin futures contracts worth $6.15 million, according to an April SEC filing.