Blackrock CIO: Cryptocurrency is here to stay, Bitcoin could replace gold

Blackrock Chief Investment Officer Rick Rieder said cryptocurrency, including bitcoin, “is here to stay”. Furthermore, he said bitcoin is a durable mechanism that could replace gold.

Blackrock on Bitcoin and Gold

Rick Rieder, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of Blackrock’s Global Fixed Income, talked about bitcoin replacing gold in an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box on Friday.

Blackrock is the largest asset manager in the world, with over $ 7.4 trillion in assets under management as of September. Rieder is also the Blackrock head of the Global Allocation Investment Team in the Multi-Asset Strategies Group.

Answering a question about the price of bitcoin and gold and whether it is a bitcoin bull, Rieder said:

I think cryptocurrency is here to stay.

Rieder elaborated: “I think it’s durable and you’ve seen central banks talking about digital currencies. I think digital currency and the receptivity – especially millennial receptivity – of technology and cryptocurrencies are real. Digital payment systems are real, so I think bitcoin is here to stay. “

Regarding him being a bitcoin bull, Rieder said: “I don’t make much, or almost nothing, of it in my wallets, in my corporate portfolios, in my corporate portfolios.” While stating that “it is difficult to say if it is [bitcoin’s] worth the price it is trading at today, “he said:

But do I think it is a durable mechanism that could replace gold to a large extent? Yes, because it is much more functional than passing a gold bar around.

Reid’s comments were very welcome in the crypto community. Former Goldman Sachs hedge fund manager Raoul Pal tweeted:

This is huge news. This is the largest asset management company in the world. 2021 is gearing up to be a year of severe supply shortages relative to bitcoin demand and rising price dislocations.

Thomas Lee, Head of Research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, commented that bitcoin “is killing this year – it’s just crushing all the other hedges and asset classes this year, but in 2021 I think bitcoin could be the year of fires. firework … the best is probably yet to come. “

Comments from Blackrock’s chief investment officer followed a number of other hedge fund managers claiming to own bitcoin, including Paul Tudor Jones, Bill Miller, and Stan Druckenmiller.

What do you think of the Blackrock executive’s point of view on bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below.

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