BlackRock CEO Larry Fink: Cryptocurrencies Potentially Revolutionizing Traditional Financial Systems

BlackRock CEO, Larry Fink revealed the potential for cryptocurrency. (Photo; Doc. Mycryptowallet)

JAKARTA - Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies overall have the support of BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, who expressed the potential for cryptocurrencies to revolutionize the financial system. In an interview with Fox Business, Fink discussed filing Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) by BlackRock to the SEC.

While Fink was previously skeptical of crypto, his views have changed, and he now describes Bitcoin as an "international asset" and plans to make it more accessible to investors.

BlackRock, which is an asset management company with more than 9 trillion US dollars (equivalent to Rp136 quadrillion) assets managed in the first quarter of 2023, filed a Bitcoin ETF application in June. This move sparked interest from other companies that also submitted similar approvals to regulators.

As a result of this step, the price of cryptocurrencies has increased significantly, up more than 12 percent in June and more than 85 percent throughout this year, according to data from MarketWatch. BlackRock also noticed Coinbase Global Inc. in market surveillance.

Furthermore, Fink expressed his belief that if assets and securities can be tokenized more, including Bitcoin, this could bring about a revolution in the financial sector. He called Bitcoin a reliable alternative to protecting value against inflation, heavy economic problems in a country, or currency devaluation. According to Fink, Bitcoin is an international asset that does not depend on a particular currency, and therefore, it can be an attractive investment option for individuals.

Fink believes that Bitcoin ETF has the potential to change the financial sector's paradigm as well as traditional ETF in the mutual fund industry. However, the SEC's decision on this submission remains unclear and needs to be anticipated. However, support from leading asset management companies such as BlackRock could pave the way for wider adoption and acceptance of crypto in traditional financial systems.