BlackRock CEO: Bitcoin is digital gold

Larry Fink, the legendary CEO of BlackRock, the world's largest asset management company, recently accepted interviews with Fox Business and CNBC. He talked about topics such as "Bitcoin is digital gold" and "Ethereum ETFs are valuable, and these are just stepping stones towards tokenization. I really believe this is where we are going," which triggered social media opinion.

In an interview with Fox Business reporter Charles Gasparino, Fink emphasized that Bitcoin ETFs are an alternative to currency devaluation. Fink said, "If you are afraid of your government, or worried that your government is devaluing the currency, then you can think of it as a huge potential long-term store of value." He added: "It's like digital gold. Because the ETF is a ledger of Bitcoin price growth and it is cross-border, these spot Bitcoin ETFs are valuable investments. This coincides with the hype and efforts that have been made for months to push the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to approve these products."

Fink went on to explain that a spot Bitcoin ETF would further legitimize Bitcoin as an asset. The emergence of a Bitcoin ETF is a use case where we legitimize this asset class. The approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF has paved the way for other potential spot cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds to gain traction.

Fink emphasized in an interview with CNBC on Friday: “I think there’s value in an Ethereum ETF. These are just stepping stones towards tokenization, and I really believe that’s where we’re going to go.”

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Spot ETF (IBIT) was one of 11 such products to trade for the first time in the U.S. on Jan. 11, after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the exchange-traded funds on Jan. 10. IBIT accounted for about $1 billion of the total $4.6 billion in trading volume on the first day.

As part of its ongoing tokenization process, the asset management giant may now be looking to list an equivalent product for Ethereum.

Tokenization is essentially creating an investment vehicle on a blockchain that is tied to a tangible asset like real estate or a car, or anything else that might exist in physical form. Once ownership is recorded on the blockchain, the asset can be traded, divided, or held securely. Fink believes tokenization can eliminate problems associated with money laundering and other corruption.

Fink also said that he does not view cryptocurrency as a currency but rather an asset class, specifically mentioning Bitcoin as "an asset class that protects you from geopolitical risk concerns."

The following are some questions from CNBC’s interview with BlackRock’s legendary CEO Larry Fink, which was edited by CarbonChain Value:

CNBC host: Gary Ganzler, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, made the decision to approve the Bitcoin ETF reluctantly and even reluctantly. This is a major change for you because you have been opposed for a long time.

Larry Fink: I was against it probably for the first three years. About two years ago, I changed my mind and as I have said for the past two years, I am a big believer in Bitcoin.

Host: Are you a Bitcoin believer?

Larry Fink: I can do that. I believe in it deeply because I believe it is another source of wealth. I don't believe Bitcoin is going to be a currency, I believe it is an asset class.

Host: You don’t believe Bitcoin is a currency?

Larry Fink: No. I think we are in a great era of digital currency. We will use blockchain technology.

Moderator: If Bitcoin cannot ultimately become a currency, and we call it digital gold (some kind of asset), how important is this to the long-term value of Bitcoin? What does it mean?

Larry Fink: Meaning in terms of price, I believe it will go up, which is different from what gold has represented for thousands of years. A lot of people in the world are afraid of geopolitical risks, and Bitcoin is an asset that can protect your wealth. Unlike gold, we are making new gold.

Host: Yesterday, Cathie Wood (founder of Ark Capital) said in our broadcast that Bitcoin will rise to $600,000. Do you have the same understanding as her?

Larry Fink: I haven't thought about it. To me, what we want to do is provide a tool that can store money very well. If we can do that, even close to that level, gold will represent a much greater value.

We believe ETFs are a technology that will transform all asset classes. We believe everything will be done through ETFs. We believe this is just the beginning and we need to embed ETFs into every sector.

Host: What does that mean?

Larry Fink: Bitcoin ETFs are just the first step in the financial market revolution. The second step will be the tokenization of all financial assets.

Moderator: Are you looking forward to other cryptocurrency ETFs? Will Gary approve the Ethereum ETF? Is this something the SEC has to do? Or do you think it will all go to court?

Larry Fink: I can't answer that question. But I see the value in an Ethereum ETF, as I said, it's a stepping stone to tokenization. I really believe that this is where we're going to go.

If you have a tokenized security, the moment you buy or sell it, you know it. It's a distributed ledger technology, and with a tokenized system, all corruption is eliminated.

Host: Maybe Dimon (CEO of JPMorgan Chase) would not agree with you, to some extent.