Bitcoin is a legitimate financial instrument suitable for investment during times of heightened fear, according to BlackRock CEO Larry Fink in an interview with CNBC.
“I was a proud skeptic, but I studied [bitcoin], learned about it,” Fink stated, acknowledging past errors regarding the asset.
He emphasized that the first cryptocurrency offers the opportunity to invest “in something beyond the control of any single country.”
“I’m not suggesting there are no abuses, as with everything else, but it is a legitimate financial instrument that allows you to have, perhaps, uncorrelated, unrelated types of income,” added the BlackRock chief.
On July 15, the company reported that its assets under management (AUM) reached $10.6 trillion in the second quarter—13% more than the same period last year. According to BlackRock, this is partly due to inflows into ETF.
Larry Fink shares his insights on BlackRock’s Q2 earnings results https://t.co/k7QXvP8EnX pic.twitter.com/vofMoxhP79
— BlackRock_News (@BlackRock_News) July 15, 2024
BlackRock is the issuer of an exchange-traded fund based on the spot price of bitcoin. At the end of May, IBIT surpassed its competitor from Grayscale in AUM with a figure of $19.68 billion.
According to SoSoValue, the net inflow into BlackRock’s IBIT following product approval reached $18.26 billion. The instrument’s AUM stands at $18.32 billion.
According to BuyBitcoinWorldwide, IBIT accounts for 1.5% of the bitcoin supply.
Previously, Fink stated that he was pleasantly surprised by retail investors’ interest in the company’s bitcoin ETF.
Earlier in July, inflows into cryptocurrency investment products surged from $441 million to $1.44 billion in the week from July 6 to 12. This figure became the fifth largest in history, according to CoinShares.