BlackRock CEO Larry Fink says the Bitcoin rally triggered by false news on Monday shows how much interest there is in crypto. He described the event as the sign of “pent up interest in crypto.”
Fink, whose company has also applied for a Bitcoin spot exchange traded fund (ETF) said he has been receiving information from clients on the need for crypto. He added that investors are looking for quality and he believes crypto will give them what they want.
“Some of this rally is way beyond the rumor,” Fink said in an interview on Fox Business. “I think the rally today is about a flight to quality, with all the issues around the Israeli war now, global terrorism. I think there’s more people running into a flight to quality, whether that is in Treasuries, gold or crypto, depending on how you think of it. And I believe crypto will play that type of role, as a flight to quality,” he added
Bitcoin rallied to $30,000 for the first time in months on Monday following news that the BlackRock Bitcoin spot ETF application had been approved by the securities and exchange commission. The post was later deleted, but the rumor had already gone round, triggering the rally.
This was also triggered by a Twitter post by Cointelegraph saying that “SEC approves iShares bitcoin spot ETF,” which was live for 30 minutes before it was updated and later removed. Cointelegraph apologized saying it was “a tweet that led to the dissemination of inaccurate information.”
Hope of an ETF Approval
The year 2023 has brought much hope to the crypto industry, mainly because of the increasing tendency of a Bitcoin spot ETF getting approval. Though there have been ETF applications submitted to the SEC over the years, none have been approved.
However this year, there are many signs that suggest a Bitcoin spot ETF may be underway. The first is that the SEC requested for some changes to be made to the submitted applications, something that has not happened in previous years.
At the same time, the U.S congress is pressing on the SEC to approve a Bitcoin ETF, especially following the court ruling in favor of Grayscale. The congressmen have asked the SEC to approve a Bitcoin ETF as soon as possible since there’s no reason not to.
Also, the SEC decided not to appeal the ruling in favor of Grayscale, which according to XBTO Global CEO Philippe Bekhazi, is a key moment for the crypto industry.
“Given the pressure the SEC has faced from the courts and the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, it is a question of when, not if, this approval gets the green light,” Bekhazi said in a note sent to The Block.
New Possibilities Following Approval
The crypto industry has been looking forward to a Bitcoin spot ETF approval because it is believed that it will usher in more investors. Bekhazi believes this is true, adding that it will open doors to new possibilities in the industry.
“When this approval happens, it will open up new possibilities for a number of sovereign, pension funds, IRAs and 401k as well as other institutions who, before this point, may not have had access to digital asset investment opportunities,” he added.
He expressed optimism that an approval ill come in Q1 2024, after the SEC completes its assessment. The agency has postponed decisions on the applications for a later date.
