BlackRock CEO Larry Fink calls Bitcoin the digital equivalent of gold, hopes to discuss ETF application with regulators.

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink stated in an interview with Fox Business Channel that he hopes to collaborate with regulatory authorities to address their concerns regarding the recent spot Bitcoin ETF application submitted by the asset management company. He also mentioned that Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, serves as "digital gold."

Bitcoin is like digital gold

Although Larry Fink himself does not hold cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, he is not a skeptic of Bitcoin like Warren Buffett. On the contrary, Larry Fink compares Bitcoin to gold.

Larry Fink also discussed the importance of blockchain technology and its future impact on the financial industry, emphasizing that people are only at the very early stages of using blockchain technology.

Expect Bitcoin Spot ETF to bring a new experience to tokenized asset market

Just as ETFs brought revolutionary progress to mutual funds, lowering the threshold for people to invest and making products more accessible, iShares ETFs reduced costs by 30% over the past decade, and BlackRock expects Bitcoin Spot ETF to bring a new experience to the tokenized asset market.

Larry Fink mentioned:

Our attempt with cryptocurrencies is to make them more democratic and reduce the costs for investors. The bid-ask spread for cryptocurrencies is very expensive, and it does erode a lot of returns. We hope that our regulators will view these filings as a way to democratize cryptocurrencies.

BlackRock hopes to have further communication with regulators

Asset management giant BlackRock submitted an application for a Bitcoin Spot ETF to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in mid-June, drawing high market attention. Subsequently, many asset management companies such as WisdomTree, Invesco, and Valkyrie resubmitted or modified their applications. However, just a few days ago, The Wall Street Journal reported that the SEC stated that the recent filings for Bitcoin Spot ETFs were not clear and comprehensive. Exchanges Nasdaq and Cboe refiled Form 19b-4, designating Coinbase as the oversight sharing agreement partner and emphasizing that this agreement will combine with information related to CME's Bitcoin futures to further enhance the exchanges' ability to detect and prevent market manipulation.

In an interview, Larry Fink also stated that BlackRock has a good track record of cooperation with regulators and strives to ensure that various issues related to the applications are taken into consideration. Although he could not disclose specific details about the application, he emphasized the close cooperation between BlackRock and regulators, hoping to receive feedback from the authorities.