BlackRock co-founder and CEO Larry Fink has changed his mind on bitcoin over the years. While acknowledging earlier doubts and criticisms, Fink said he became a believer in cryptocurrencies after dedicating time to studying and learning about bitcoin. He now sees a place for crypto in the average investor’s portfolio.
“I was a proud skeptic,” Fink said Monday on CNBC, “and I studied it, learned about it, and I came away saying, okay, you know, my opinion [for] five years was wrong.”
“I believe bitcoin is a legitimate financial instrument,” he added.
Bitcoin, Fink continued, should be part of every investor’s portfolio as it potentially allows for uncorrelated hyper returns and provides financial control.
“It is an instrument that you invest in when you’re more frightened,” said Fink. “It is an instrument when you believe that countries are debasing their currency by excess deficits.”
After receiving approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for spot bitcoin ETFs in the U.S., BlackRock’s iShares group launched the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) earlier this year. IBIT has become the largest spot bitcoin ETF by market cap, holding more than $20 billion in assets.