Larry Fink, the man in charge of BlackRock and one of the most powerful people in finance, has opened up about how he came to like Bitcoin after being a critic for quite some time.
Before diving headfirst into BTC with a spot exchange-traded fund, Larry was one of the people who routinely criticized it and said it was backed by nothing.
In his interview with CNBC, however, he told Jim Cramer that he was wrong about Bitcoin back then. Larry confessed that:
“I was a skeptic. I was a proud skeptic. But I studied it, learned about it, and realized my opinion five years ago was wrong.”
Sure, like anything else, it can be misused, but that doesn’t make it worthless. “I believe Bitcoin is legitimate,” he said. “It allows for uncorrelated returns, different from traditional assets.”
In other words, Bitcoin can give you returns that aren’t tied to the ups and downs of the stock market. Larry also pointed out that Bitcoin is a great asset to have when things get shaky.
When countries start messing up their currencies with huge deficits, Bitcoin can be a safe bet. “Bitcoin is an instrument you invest in when you’re financially frightened,” he explained.
It’s a way to have some financial control when you don’t trust your country’s currency. Larry calls Bitcoin digital gold, and he believes many people overlook the practical applications of cryptocurrencies.
They’re not just for making quick money. “Bitcoin is not an instrument for hope unless you’re hopeful you’re gonna make a lot of money on it,” Larry joked. His change of heart has paid off big time for BlackRock.
Six months after launching its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) in January, BlackRock saw its assets under management (AUM) hit a record high. As of July, BlackRock had $10.65 trillion in AUM, up 13% from the previous year.
This was higher than the $10.2 trillion they expected for the second quarter. BlackRock’s Q2 earnings report showed they brought in $51 billion in new client cash to long-term investment funds. Larry said:
“Organic growth was driven by private markets, retail active fixed income, and surging flows into our ETFs, which had their best start to a year on record.”
The total net flows for BlackRock in Q2 were $82 billion, leading to $139 billion in net flows for the first half of the year. This was a big comeback for BlackRock and other money managers who had a tough time when the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates in 2022 and 2023.
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