BlackRock (BLK) CEO Larry Fink Opens up on Crypto Outlook

BlackRock, Inc. BLK has joined a cohort of companies trying to get into the crypto ETF space. They filed for listing a spot bitcoin ETF to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Jun 15.

CEO Larry Fink, who had been critical of the crypto bubble in 2017 citing money laundering as one of the market’s biggest drivers, did a U-turn on his assessment last Friday in a television interview. According to Fink, crypto fits into BlackRock’s broader mission of adding to its cheap and user-friendly product portfolio and democratizing investing.

SEC has a history of being skeptical of crypto ETFs and has rejected most of these offers in the past, but what makes the BlackRock application stand out is the proposed surveillance-sharing agreement in the filing. “We are working with our regulators because, as in any new market, if BlackRock’s name is going to be on it, we’re going to make sure that it’s safe and sound and protected,” Fink said.

While not elaborating directly about the details of the spot bitcoin ETF because of legal issues, Fink went on to mention that more and more gold investors have shown interest in crypto ETFs in recent years, running parallels to the importance of ETFs in democratizing access to the gold market.

BlackRock, which currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), reported a second-quarter earnings beat on the very day that Fink made his crypto outlook public. The company reported earnings per share of $9.28, widely surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $8.47. The company also reported that it currently has more than $9 trillion of assets under management.

With other mega asset managers like Invesco Ltd. IVZ and Fidelity National Financial, Inc. FNF also venturing into the space, and with BlackRock leading the way with regulatory compliance agreements, it would be prudent to watch this space closely. Earlier in July, the SEC expressed concerns about these offers not being “sufficiently clear and comprehensive.” Whether it will play ball now is anybody’s guess.
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