Recently,\u00a0Larry Fink, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of\u00a0BlackRock, the world\u2019s largest asset manager, said during an interview that crypto \u201ccould become a great asset class.\u201d<\/p>\n
BlackRock, which was founded in 1988, started with just eight people working in one room. It made its Initial Public Offering on the New York Stock Exchange on 1 October 1999 at $14 a share.In 2006, BlackRock acquired Merrill Lynch Investment Management. Then in 2009, it acquired Barclay\u2019s Global Investors (BGI), \u201cbecoming the world\u2019s largest asset manager, with employees in 24 countries.\u201d As of 31 March 2020, BlackRock had $6.47 trillion in assets under management (AUM).<\/p>\n
Fink made his comments during an interview on April 15 with CNBC\u2019s Squawk Box. <\/p>\n
Fink believes in crypto:<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m still fascinated about it, I\u2019m encouraged by how many people are focusing on it, I\u2019m encouraged about the narrative that it may become a great asset class. And I do believe this could become a great asset class.<\/em>\u201c<\/p>\n However, he does not think crypto will replace fiat currencies:<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t believe it\u2019s a substitute for currencies. I think we\u2019re going to have cryptocurrencies of dollars, cryptocurrencies of other currencies. But I don\u2019t believe we should think about crypto as a substitute of currency. But I\u2019m fascinated by it as an asset class.<\/em>\u201c<\/p>\n He went on to say that although his firm has been studying and experimenting with crypto, they are not seeing much demand from institutional investors:<\/p>\n \u201cI will tell you of our investors worldwide\u2026 we don\u2019t have that much inquiry on it. We are investing in it. Rick Rieder\u2019s been on your show talking about things that we are doing in it. And we\u2019re studying it\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n