• BlackRock, the largest asset manager globally has filed for a Bitcoin spot ETF.
• Rumors say that Fidelity Investments may file for one as well.
• The filing raised concerns in the crypto community due to language giving BlackRock sole discretion on hard forks.
Blackrock’s Interest in Bitcoin
BlackRock, the largest asset manager globally with $9.1 trillion under its wing, filed for a Bitcoin spot ETF on June 15th 2021. There is also rumor that Fidelity Investments (with over $4 trillion in AUM) will file one too. This heightened institutional interest has brought a seemingly bullish factor to go along with the 23% price increase of Bitcoin this month.
The Concerns Raised by Blackrock’s Filing
The application with the US Securities and Exchange Commission states that “In the event of a hard fork of the Bitcoin network, [Blackrock] will use its sole discretion to determine, in good faith, which peer-to-peer network … is generally accepted as the Bitcoin network.” This language gives BlackRock sole discretion over any possible future forks raising concerns within the crypto community.
Larry Fink and World Economic Forum
Larry Fink, chief executive of BlackRock is widely considered one of the central players in global financial markets and he also has solid connections to World Economic Forum (WEF). In 2019 he joined WEF Board of Trustees and his company is now a “policy contributor” there.
Is Institutional Interest Beneficial?
Bitcoin is experiencing its foray into “big money” like never before and big money often comes with big changes which have divided opinions amongst members of crypto community as to whether or not fiat interest is beneficial or not.
Conclusion
While it remains unclear if an influx of big money can be good or bad for cryptocurrency markets, there is no doubt that increased institutional involvement will bring more attention from traditional investors who are yet to dip their toes into cryptocurrencies waters let alone swim across it!