BlackRock Is ‘Studying’ Crypto, Which Could Someday Play Role Akin to Gold, CEO Says: Report

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said on Wednesday the company is studying cryptocurrencies’ potential as a long-term investment though it’s too early to tell if they’re “just a speculative trading tool” due to their volatility, Reuters said.

• Cryptocurrencies could someday play a role in long-term investing as an asset class similar to gold, Fink said at the company's annual meeting in response to a shareholder question asking whether the company would invest in bitcoin.
• “The firm has monitored the evolution of crypto assets. We are studying what it means, the infrastructure, the regulatory landscape,” Reuters quoted Fink as saying.
• For now, though, crypto is too volatile to serve as an investment for BlackRock, which is a long-term investor, Fink said. The CEO noted broker dealers are by and large the ones making the big money from the volatility of cryptocurrencies and their wide bid-ask spreads, Reuters said.