In a recent report, a popular investor, Santiago Santos, revealed his belief that giant institutions are only interested in the crypto industry because of high demands and not their belief in it.
According to the report, the savvy financial personnel deduced that the massive participation of the institutions in the crypto market is mainly driven by their quest to satisfy customers’ demands for crypto products rather than to express their faith in financial innovation.
To explain further, Santos highlighted the recent interest the CEO of BlackRock banking firm showed towards crypto assets. According to him, the media hardly notice it when average crypto skeptics change their opinions and venture deep into the dirt they once loathed.
However, having giant institutions like BlackRock change their opinion to become favorable towards crypto is definitely something to discuss and wonder about.
Santos was reportedly referring to the abrupt change in opinion that the CEO of BlackRock, one of the largest asset management firms globally, Larry Fink, has about the crypto firm.
According to the report, Larry Fink had, some years ago, labeled Bitcoin as an index of money laundering, declaring his disapproval of the innovation then. However, the CEO now believes crypto is digital gold and an international asset.
Santiago Santos pointed out that Fink didn’t just wake up someday and have a change of heart about crypto. Somewhat, the CEO changed his opinion to meet the rapidly growing institutional demands for crypto-related services and products, as per Santos.
Santos said Larry Fink Has a Huge Influence In The Capital Market
In addition, the savvy investor explained his views on why the CEO changed his opinion and the impact this abrupt decision of BlackRock might have in the crypto industry during the recent Empire podcast (Spotify/Apple).
Santos believed that it was not like Larry Fink just looked at the white paper of Bitcoin, discovered the massive potential it offers, and started executing transactions in BTC.
However, the giant firms are always on the lookout for the interest of their biggest customers, and seeing that they demand crypto products, they jumped on it even if they don’t have much belief in it, said Santos.
Contributing to Santos’ views, the host of the podcast, Yanowitz Jason, related that Larry Fink of BlackRock is a very powerful and influential person in the global capital markets, which most people underestimate.
The host believed that Fink was highly connected politically. He pointed out that in 2020 when the Federal Reserve needed corporate bonds to support the economy, when they started printing money, they turned to BlackRock.
In addition, he highlighted that Larry Fink and BlackRock came to aid FDIC when it was winding down the portfolios of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank when they collapsed.
Santiago Santos continued that BlackRock exerts huge influence in the global economy such that when it sneezes, the world feels the cold. He added that the firm has shares in many significant firms worldwide.
BlackRock Validating Crypto Can Change The Industry’s Narrative
Commenting on the recent development, Santos believed that BlackRock validating cryptocurrency as a vital asset class is one of the biggest events in the industry in recent years. He added that the firm’s stance could be pivotal to changing the narrative of the industry.
Furthermore, Santos pointed out that the only valid reason institution giants like BlackRock would venture into the crypto industry is because they are receiving a lot of demands from their clients.
As Fink is pragmatic and knows how to expand his company’s franchise, he probably saw the opportunity in the growing asset class and decided to milk it with an ETF, according to Santos.
Jason Yanowitz highlighted that giant mutual fund organizations have existing crypto strategies driven by their CEO. Meanwhile, half of them don’t, however, Yanowitz believes heavy demands from clients would soon force them into the crypto market.
He concluded that all mutual fund firms would eventually venture into the crypto industry not because they have faith in it but because their customers demand it.
