BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said that crypto technology is still relevant for the future, despite the FTX collapse. The chief of the world’s largest asset manager said that there might have been “misbehaviors of major consequences” by FTX. Fink made his comments at an event hosted by the New York Times DealBook.
While stating that “we’re going to have to wait to see how this all plays out,” Fink added that most crypto companies wont exist in the future.
Fink further said that BlackRock, which manages around $8.5 trillion worth of assets, invested $25 million in the now-defunct FTX. The investment was made via a billionaire fund under the firm.
Nonetheless, Fink is a believer in the technology behind crypto. He stated,
“I believe the next generation for markets and next generation for securities will be tokenization of securities.”
BlackRock is all in on crypto?
The popularity of crypto and blockchains among top financial companies is a testament to the industry’s strength. Tokenization is another aspect that is creating a lot of interest.
Stephen Cohen, head of BlackRock’s business across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, said, “tokenization is about trying to give more people access to investments.”
Cohen claimed that BlackRock is just beginning to look for opportunities in digital assets. BlackRock’s Aladdin platform, which also serves banks, pension funds, insurance firms, and other asset managers among its clients, is already at the heart of the company’s drive into digital assets in the US.
Furthermore, institutional clients can now access the digital asset market through connectivity with Coinbase Prime, thanks to a partnership between BlackRock and Coinbase that was announced in August.
Meanwhile, the crypto markets are going through another period of relief. Bitcoin (BTC) has crossed the $17k mark again, and Ethereum (ETH) is getting close to $1.3k. At press time, the global crypto market cap stood at $899 billion, up by 1.2% in the last 24 hours.