Bitcoin’s rally on unconfirmed news regarding the approval of a spot ETF from BlackRock points to \”unmet demand for digital assets,\” according to Larry Fink, the CEO of the filing company.
On October 16, Cointelegraph reported on the approval by the SEC of a spot Bitcoin ETF. Amid the rumours, the price of the leading cryptocurrency rose above $30,000, but the post was later deleted. This was followed by a denial from the Commission, BlackRock itself, and other media.
Having weathered turbulence, Bitcoin closed the day above $28,000. It began the week at around $27,150.
“Part of the rally extends far beyond the rumours. I think the jump is linked to investors fleeing to ‘quality’, given the problems surrounding the current Israeli war, global terrorism. More and more people are seeking to buy Treasuries, gold or cryptocurrencies. […] I am convinced that digital assets will play the same role,” Fink said.
The senior executive declined to discuss the progress of the spot Bitcoin ETF application. The BlackRock CEO added that he had heard \”from clients around the world about the demand for cryptocurrency\”.
In July, Fink said that investors could buy digital gold to hedge against inflation rather than precious metals.
BlackRock filed with the SEC a Bitcoin-based investment product on June 15. Following the financial giant, similar filings were made by Valkyrie, Fidelity Investments, WisdomTree and Invesco.
So far, the regulator has issued no approvals for launching spot ETFs on digital gold. The Commission has made an exception for similar products based on futures for the first cryptocurrency from ProShares and Valkyrie Investments.
Earlier in September, SEC Chair Gary Gensler testified that the agency continues to studythe court ruling in the Grayscale case, as well as numerous applications for spot Bitcoin ETFs.