BlackRock CEO Surprised by Bitcoin ETF Hype

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink expressed his surprise at the interest from retail investors in the company’s spot Bitcoin ETF during an interview with Fox Business.

?NEW: @BlackRock CEO Larry Fink on $BTC and his $IBIT ETF:

“Look, 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 would never have predicted that before.”

— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) March 27, 2024

The top executive stated that he is “very optimistic about the long-term viability of digital gold.”

“We are now creating a market with more liquidity and transparency. I’m pleasantly surprised, although I would never have predicted this before,” he added.

According to SoSoValue, net inflows into BlackRock’s IBIT following the product’s approval reached $13.86 billion. The AUM of the instrument increased to $17.21 billion, second only to Grayscale’s GBTC ($23 billion). With ongoing outflows from its competitor, the performance of both exchange-traded funds may equalize in the future.

According to BuyBitcoinWorldwide, IBIT accounts for 1.17% of the Bitcoin supply.

Fink also addressed questions regarding an ETH-ETF in light of the potential classification of Ethereum as a security.

?NEW: Larry Fink on $ETH spot ETF: @CGasparino: There’s a lot of noise about the SEC declaring ether a security which would take it out of the bitcoin category as a commodity. How does that translate into an ETF?

Fink: “I don’t think — look and I really can’t talk about this… https://t.co/si9ZiM6z30 pic.twitter.com/SVFcGvwRRg

— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) March 27, 2024

“I can’t talk about this […], but I don’t think such a designation would be so harmful,” he commented.

The BlackRock CEO affirmed the possibility of launching an ETH-ETF if the SEC classifies the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization as an investment contract.

Earlier, Grayscale’s head of legal, Craig Salm, predicted the product’s approval in May, despite claims of “no interaction” from the Commission with applicants.