Russia’s attack on Ukraine has brought about a lot. Socially, but also from an economic and monetary perspective. Many Ukrainians have exchanged the national currency, the hryvnia, for cryptocurrencies, among other things. According to BlackRock CEO and Chairman Larry Fink, it could greatly accelerate crypto adoption.
Grootest asset manager is tackling
He writes that to be annual letter to shareholders† BlackRock is under management with total assets (assets under managementAUM) of 10 trillion USD the biggest wealth manager on Earth. Because of its size, the company is usually a bit ‘slow’ when it comes to shouting these kinds of things. Still, it means a lot once a cover is made, and Fink’s statement is a prime example of this.
He explains that investors in BlackRock are increasingly interested in digital currencies. In addition, because of the war between Russia and Ukraine, countries have to take a closer look ‘on which currencies they depend.’ Digital currencies can play an important role in this.
Does not mention “crypto” or “bitcoin”
It is striking that the CEO does not, for example, use ‘digital assets’ in his choice of words, and not, for example, ‘digital assets’. The word ‘crypto’ is never mentioned, but the category of stablecoins and the digital dollar (read: CBDCs) is. This means that it is also clear to BlackRock that the concept has a future. It even insists on how a ‘global, carefully designed digital payment system’ can improve international transactions and reduce the risk of money laundering.
BlackRock further ‘studies’ digital currencies, stablecoins and the underlying technologies (read: blockchain). Still, a lot is unclear. It doesn’t say a word about which cryptocurrencies have a future in the eyes of the asset manager. In particular, the company may be talking about projects that are not yet publicly available and about Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). In any case, it is likely that there will be a number of public cryptos that BlackRock also finds interesting. Last month, news also ran that the asset manager wanted clients to use crypto as collateral for loans.
