BlackRock's Rieder Hints More Bitcoin Purchase In Future

BlackRock's chief investment officer Rick Rieder has hinted that the New York-based asset management giant may acquire more Bitcoin (BTC) in future.

In a new episode of The Wall Street Journal's On the Week podcast, Rieder said his Bitcoin exposure may shift as the public's responses toward the decentralized cryptocurrency.

"Time will tell whether it's gonna be a big part of the asset allocation framework. I think over time, people become more and more comfortable with it," he said. Rieder noted that his funds at BlackRock currently has a small exposure to BTC.

Rieder has spoken positively about Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in 2021, when he revealed that BlackRock has "started to dabble" in BTC. He said at the time that the people was "holding a lot more cash" than before and diversifying assets has started making sense. "Holding some portion of what you hold in cash in things like crypto seems to make some sense to me," he pointed out.

Also in 2020, Rieder said he believes crypto is "here to stay," due in part to the millennial generation's "receptivity" to emerging technologies and the development of digital currencies among central banks.

"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 actually passing a gold bar around, he said.

The recent change in tone among BlackRock leaders is apparent. BlackRock CEO, Larry Fink, previously said most cryptocurrencies "identifies how much money laundering is being done in the world. He has since been a vocal believer in crypto's potential, even predicting that cryptocurrencies will "transcend" traditional currencies.

In January, Fink announced that BlackRock was looking to usher "technological revolution in the financial markets." His announcement came after he amassed more than 11,000 BTC.

At the time, he said exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are the first step in a tech-centric revolution of financial markets. "Step two is going to be the tokenization of every financial asset," he noted, adding that with tokenized securities, "all corruption" can be eliminated.

BlackRock filed for its spot Ethereum (ETH) ETF in November, called iShares Ethereum Trust. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which recently approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs, said late last month that it needed more time to approve or deny the asset manager's application. The regulator said it will make a decision on March 10.

Some analysts are expecting for spot ETH ETFs to be approved sometime this year, while others believe ETH ETFs will continue to face delays.