In an unexpected turn of events, the outspoken CEO of BlackRock, Larry Fink, who was once a Bitcoin critic, has now endorsed the cryptocurrency, much to the delight of Bitcoin supporters, including Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz. Novogratz expressed his bullish sentiment on Bitcoin in a recent Bloomberg interview, attributing the impact of Fink’s newfound Bitcoin approval to the digital asset’s strengthening position.
Fink’s 180-degree turnaround first caught investors’ attention when BlackRock submitted an application to launch a Bitcoin spot Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF). This development was especially intriguing as no such product currently exists in the US market. Novogratz seemed to relish Fink’s conversion from a nonbeliever to a Bitcoin advocate, using the term ‘orange pilled’ to describe his transformation.
Interestingly, back in 2017, Fink dismissed Bitcoin as nothing more than an “index for money laundering,” associating the high demand for the digital asset with illicit deeds. This criticism is echoed by certain political figures and central bankers today, even though there’s inadequate blockchain data to back up these claims.
The tides noticeably changed last month when Fink hinted at the global potential of Bitcoin in an interview with CNBC, suggesting that the international nature of cryptocurrencies may pave the way for them to surpass individual currencies in terms of currency valuation.
Further good news surrounds BlackRock’s Bitcoin spot ETF application. Considering BlackRock’s admirable 99.8% success rate with their past ETF requests, their endeavour brings fresh optimism to the burgeoning crypto market.
Novogratz sees the combination of BlackRock’s ETF aspirations and Fink’s Bitcoin endorsement as triggers for an “adoption cycle,” suggesting this could propel Bitcoin to exceed its record high of $69,000 reached in November 2021. The Federal Reserve’s potential rate cut in the upcoming months could be another contributing factor.
In addition to all this, Novogratz is feeling positive about the recent determination of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against Ripple Labs. He deemed this resolution a “huge victory” for the crypto world. Though Bitcoin, already categorized as a commodity by both of the country’s top market regulators, won’t be directly affected by the case, it creates an avenue for exchanges such as Coinbase to consider relisting XRP and other virtual assets that have been entangled in legal uncertainty. This togetherness of events seems to provide a glimmer of optimism for the future of the crypto world.
Source: Cryptonews
