There’s a well-known but poorly understood investment that the head of the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, thinks is an alternative to gold.
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During the company’s third quarter earnings call earlier this month, an analyst from Barclays asked what a new president in the White House more friendly to the cryptocurrency industry could mean for business opportunities.
“I mean, we believe Bitcoin is an asset class in itself. It is an alternative to other commodities like gold,” said Fink, adding that this space could grow to also include Cerium, a metal that may potentially be used in blockchain technology. “So if we can create more acceptability, more transparency, more analytics related to these assets, then it will be expanded.”
BlackRock launched its first-ever spot bitcoin ETF in January this year. With almost $27 billion in assets, it’s been a resounding success and is now by far the world’s biggest fund for the cryptocurrency.
Fink sounded optimistic about cryptocurrency investing, comparing its gradual expansion to that of the mortgage market years ago.
But the comparison to gold is also noteworthy. It’s a strong statement about a once controversial digital currency solidifying its position as a mainstream investable asset class. Back in 2017 Fink said Bitcoin was “an index of money laundering,” arguing the crypto currency just measures how much money is being made from criminal activity.
While people like MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor are very bullish on Bitcoin and believe it is a store of value, there are plenty of skeptics like economist Peter Schiff who would scoff at the idea that Bitcoin is “digital gold” or “the new gold.”
Read more: Rich, young Americans are ditching the stormy stock market — here are the alternative assets they’re banking on instead
The price of Bitcoin has risen over 50% since the start of the year, and despite a perception that the former U.S. President Donald Trump is more friendly to cryptocurrencies, industry players speaking to CNBC didn’t seem to fear a win for Vice President Kamala Harris.