BlackRock’s Chief Investment Officer Says Bitcoin Could Replace Gold to a Large Extent

The chief decision maker for where BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, invests its funds said bitcoin could take the place of gold to a large extent because crypto is “so much more functional than passing a bar of gold around.”

• Speaking during CNBC's Squawk Box on Friday, BlackRock CIO of Fixed Income Rick Rieder responded to a question asking if governments might try to regulate bitcoin if its price keeps rallying.
• "I think cryptocurrency's here to stay, I think it is ... durable," he said.
• Alongside central banks developing digital currencies, millennials' "receptivity" to technology and cryptocurrency "is real, digital payments systems is real," Rieder said.
• "Do I think it's a durable mechanism that ... could take the place of gold to a large extent? Yeah, I do, because it's so much more functional than passing a bar of gold around," Rieder said.
• The CIO balanced that by saying he's not particularly a bitcoin bull and doesn't include it much in business and corporate portfolios. Further, it's not clear if bitcoin is worth its current price of over $18,000 price, he said.
• At press time, bitcoin was at $18,550.01, up 2.75%.

UPDATED 11/20/20 at 14:43 UTC: adds that BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager. See also: Morgan Creek CEO Says Bitcoin Doing ‘Extremely Well’ Due to Fed Reserve’s Dollar Devaluation