Concerns of Institutional adoption of crypto have been raised by Blackrock CEO, Larry Fink, despite the successful rollout of Coinbase stock.
According to Fink on CBNC Squawk Box on Thursday, said that he was encouraged by how many people were that were turning to crypto and the stories surrounding it,
“[Crypto] may become a great asset class, and I do believe this could become a great asset class,” said Fink. “I don’t believe it’s a substitute for currencies. I don’t believe we should think about crypto as a substitute of currency.”
The Blackrock CEO was seemingly more bullish on the idea of stablecoins — referring to them as “cryptocurrencies of dollars.” However, he added that the asset manager hadn’t seen rising interest from institutions around the world, saying climate risk, the national deficit and inflation were getting more attention in his circles than crypto.
“We’re studying it, we’ve made money on it, but I’m not here to tell you that we’re seeing broad-based interest by institutions worldwide. […] We’ve had very little inter-connectivity on the conversation on crypto other than a fascination.”
The CEO has previously referred to Bitcoin (BTC) as an untested volatile asset within “a very small market” that has yet to prove its long-term viability. However, the firm’s chief investment officer, Rick Rieder, said in November 2020 that “Bitcoin is here to stay” and that the crypto asset would likely “take the place of gold to a large extent.”