Global financial planning and investment management corporation BlackRock Inc is assessing blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin according to the company’s chief executive Larry Fink.
Fink told Reuters in an interview:
“We are a big student of blockchain” but he does not see “huge demand for cryptocurrencies.”
The corporation has set up a working group to study blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.
BlackRock’s Interest in the Emerging Technologies a Catalyst for Sector Growth
BlackRock’s investment in crypto or possible application of the blockchain is a huge institutional endorsement for the rising technology. The company’s assets are valued at $6.3 trillion as of June 30.
The portfolio manager at crypto-oriented hedge fund Black Square Capital Management LLC Chris Yoo said: “BlackRock exploring crypto assets comes as no surprise and is definitely a positive development for the crypto market. As the largest asset manager in the world, its interest in crypto assets could be a catalyst for upward price movement and encourage other asset managers, even with more conservative strategies, to seriously explore investing in the crypto space.”
Last year in November, Fink described bitcoin as a “speculative” investment that was only booming because of its anonymity. He also observed that digital currencies are used in money laundering.
However, he was optimistic about the blockchain, the distributed ledger technology underpinning bitcoin that allows the recording of transactions in a transparent, secure, and fast manner.
Some asset management firms such as Fidelity Investments, BlackRock’s top competitor, have been quicker to approve the possible role of digital currencies. So far, the asset management firm has vastly experimented with the project.
