Asset management company BlackRock plans to become Circle’s primary reserve manager and is considering expanding into the cryptocurrency market. This was stated during a conference call by Larry Fink, head of the investment giant, The Wall Street Journal.
In April BlackRock took part in a $400 million funding round for Circle, the issuer behind USD Coin (USDC).
According to Fink, over the past year BlackRock has worked with Circle, managing some of its cash reserves. The billionaire expects that ultimately his company will become the primary manager of these assets.
Fink also added that BlackRock is studying the cryptocurrency market more broadly, including digital assets, stablecoins, permissioned blockchains, and tokenisation. He says clients of the asset manager are increasingly interested in this sector.
In February the media reported that BlackRock will add the ability to trade cryptocurrencies to the Aladdin portfolio-management system. It was also reported that the company intends to integrate a collateralised lending service for digital assets.
Earlier, PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel included Fink on Bitcoin’s ‘enemies’ list.
In January 2022, iShares, the BlackRock-owned provider of ETFs, filed with the SEC to launch ETF based on an index of blockchain- and crypto companies.