BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said that investors can buy Bitcoin to hedge against inflation instead of precious metals.
“The role of cryptocurrencies, in many respects, is to digitize gold,” he added.
In his view, Bitcoin represents an ‘international currency’. He also admitted that he was initially skeptical about the idea of digital assets, but later changed his mind.
On June 15, BlackRock filed a spot Bitcoin-ETF with the SEC. Fink said he was willing to work with the agency and to hear the agency’s concerns about the product.
“We have a good track record with our regulators, and we are trying to ensure that we are thinking about all the issues related to our filing,” added the BlackRock CEO.
Following the financial giant’s move, ETF applications were filed by Valkyrie, Fidelity Investments, WisdomTree and Invesco. In the SEC’s filing list ARK Invest c 21Shares have priority based on when they were submitted.
According to Fink, his company is trying to make cryptocurrency ‘more democratic’ and ‘cheaper’ for investors.
Earlier, Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss criticized the SEC for denying approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs.