BlackRock CEO: Cryptocurrencies Can Surpass the Dollar and Others

The BlackRock CEO believes the global demand for cryptocurrencies gives them an edge over traditional currencies.

BlackRock Chief Executive Larry Fink said on Friday that the digital asset's international reach allows it to outperform any national currency such as the U.S. dollar.

In the interview, the executive emphasized how cryptocurrencies are unique from other asset classes and the role BlackRock can play in the space.

Democratizing Crypto with ETFs

In an interview with CNBC, Fink highlighted BlackRock's mission to "democratize investing" by creating products that are cheap and easy for investors to use, noting how that goal extends to crypto assets.

"We believe we have a responsibility to democratize investing," he said. "We're doing great, the role of ETFs in the world is changing investing, and we're just getting started."

ETFs, or exchange-traded funds, are funds traded on exchanges that track a specific index. Investors buy shares in the fund, and fund managers use investors' money to buy stocks, bonds, cryptocurrencies, or whatever the fund intends to track.

Last month, BlackRock filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch a bitcoin spot ETF in the United States. Since June, bitcoin has rallied on optimism that BlackRock may be the first company to receive approval for such a product, given its past overwhelming success with the SEC.

Fink believes that ETFs will represent more and more of the cryptocurrency market in the future, emphasizing how the emergence of gold ETFs can "democratize" gold investing by making trading the asset affordable.

The CEO said BlackRock could do the same with cryptocurrencies: “Transaction costs are quite expensive,” he said. "Over the past five years, more and more global investors have asked us about the role of cryptocurrencies."

Cryptocurrency and Other Currencies

Fink also sees cryptocurrencies as an "international asset" that can "beyond any single currency," noting the depreciation of the U.S. dollar as a concern. “International crypto offerings can really go beyond that,” he said, adding that the asset class attracted “broad” and “global” interest.

His comments were well received by bitcoin bulls such as MicroStrategy's Michael Saylor, who often tout bitcoin as a superior savings technology to the dollar due to its limited supply.

Fink declined to comment on Bitcoin, noting in particular that he was banned due to his ongoing SEC filing. The SEC officially recognized the filing this week.