Digitalizing Gold’: BlackRock CEO Pitches Bitcoin to Investors

• BlackRock CEO Larry Fink called Bitcoin an “international asset” during a recent interview.
• Binance CEO said BlackRock’s entry into the crypto market can prove to be “hugely beneficial” for the industry.
• Zhao referred to the overlap between BlackRock and Binance’s customer bases as “minimal”

There’s a growing institutional interest in crypto and the star of the show is Bitcoin. In a recent interview, BlackRock’s CEO labeled the leading cryptocurrency as an “international asset.” Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao addressed BlackRock’s recent entry into the market, adding that it will boost Bitcoin.

Earlier today, MicroStrategy founder, Michael Saylor tweeted a video from Fox News in which BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said that crypto is “digitalizing gold”.

Fink remarked that instead of investing in gold, whose value is associated with external factors such as inflation and devaluation of a nation’s currency, investors can opt for Bitcoin. He added,

Bitcoin is an international asset. It’s not based on any one currency.

BlackRock has submitted a revised application for a Bitcoin spot market-focused ETF after regulators expressed concerns about its original filing for approval on June 15th. The updated filing includes plans to establish a surveillance agreement with Coinbase, addressing a major objection raised by the SEC in previous rejections of similar ETF applications.

A few hours after Fink’s comments, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao hosted an “ask me anything” session on Twitter, where he expressed a positive outlook on BlackRock’s recent foray into crypto, stating that he sees it as “hugely beneficial” for the cryptocurrency industry.

Additionally, Zhao dismissed concerns regarding potential market share competition between Binance and BlackRock, asserting that the overlap between their customer bases is “minimal”. He emphasized that new entrants into the crypto industry would bring additional people into the ecosystem, while acknowledging that this would also usher in heightened competition for existing users.

In the same session, Zhao also highlighted the significance of the forthcoming Bitcoin halving event in 2024 and projected that the most probable year for the next bull market would be 2025. Moreover, he emphasized that historically, the year following a Bitcoin halving tends to be characterized by a bullish market trend.