Washington: Denying the news about BlakcRock Inc.’s entry into the crypto market, Laurence D. Fink, CEO of BlackRock said that the company is not interested in getting involved into crypto business.
While speaking to Bloomberg, Fink said, “I don’t believe any client has sought out crypto exposure. I’ve not heard from one client who says, ‘I need to be in this’.” Notably, it was yesterday when the news spread that BlackRock Inc., the largest ETF provider globally, is planning to enter the crypto market.
Denying the entry into the crypto market, he was silent on the development of institutional investors concerning virtual currencies.
Though, the denial by the CEO is right opposite to the comments of Isabelle Mateos y Lago, Chief Multi-Asset Strategist and Managing Director, who admitted earlier this year that clients do ask about Bitcoin once in a week.
Fink also informed that as of now the company would like to wait for the clear market laws from the regulators while studying the market. As of now, he will be considering whether the best performing coins are feasible substitutes to fiat.
State of Confusion for Crypto Stakeholders
The crypto stakeholders are in the state of confusion because of contradicting statement coming from BlackRock. On one hand, Fink is denying the entry in the crypto market while the Managing Director says that the company is considering crypto investments.
As per information given previously, a team is evaluating the merits of investing in virtual currency and blockchain technology critically.
As the news came in the market, the prices of some coins hiked up significantly. Bitcoin surged for more than four per cent and reached above the $6,600 mark. Though, Fink even said that there are no plans even to create an infrastructure for crypto trading, whether actual buying or selling of Bitcoins futures.
CEO Backs His Words
Fink’s statement, despite being contradictory to the MD’s statement, is not a surprise. He had termed Bitcoin as ‘speculative’ in 2017 itself. He also said, “Bitcoin’s claim to fame was in the anonymity it provided criminals to engage in their illicit activities – an argument that has been debunked on multiple occasions.”
Although it isn’t previously known for a Wall Street firm to make a U-turn concerning virtual currency. It was in 2017 when Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan termed Bitcoin a fraud and even said that any of his employees if trades in virtual currency will be fired but in 2018 the bank is significantly making inroads into the market.
Any development on the same is still awaited and crypto stakeholders will be looking forward to it eagerly as the price rally would also depend on it significantly.
