BlackRock Is Gearing Up To Offer Crypto Trading Service, Sources Say
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, is getting ready to offer a cryptocurrency trading service to its investor clients, according to sources.
The New York-based financial giant, with over $10 trillion in assets under management, plans to enter the cryptocurrency space with “client support trading and then with their own credit facility,” one of the people familiar with the plans said. What it means is that clients would be able to borrow from BlackRock by pledging crypto assets as collateral.
BlackRock’s interest in cryptocurrency has grown steadily in recent months. In December of 2020, CEO Laurence Fink said a growing search volume for “bitcoin” on the firm’s website indicated a growing legitimacy. In January the firm gave a green light for two of its funds to buy Bitcoin futures. in September 2021, BlackRock CIO Rick Rieder, predicted Bitcoin to go up significantly. Last month, it filed for an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that would hold blockchain and crypto firms.
BlackRock also owns 16.3% of MicroStrategy, whose CEO, Michael Saylor, on regular basis announces news about the firm’s bitcoin holdings.
A second person with knowledge of the plans said BlackRock was “looking to get hands-on with outright crypto” and was “looking at providers in the space.”
A third person referred to a working group of “approximately 20 or so” inside BlackRock that is evaluating crypto, adding, “They see all the flow that everyone else is getting and want to start making some money from this.”
