BlackRock CEO's Evolution: From Cryptocurrency Skeptic to Bitcoin ETF King

The chairman and CEO of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management company, Larry Fink, has publicly admitted that his “thought process has evolved” regarding cryptocurrencies. Once a “proud skeptic,” Fink has undergone a significant shift in attitude after his company’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF surpassed $70 billion in assets, becoming the largest Bitcoin ETF in the United States. Fink has not only acknowledged the value of cryptocurrencies but also sees tokenization as a true opportunity to transform traditional finance. Meanwhile, market volatility and the establishment of regulatory frameworks remain key issues that the industry must address on its path to maturity.

Fink’s Transformation: From “Money Laundering Index” to Embracing Digital Assets

At a recent New York Times DealBook conference, Larry Fink responded candidly when the host brought up his past remarks describing cryptocurrencies as a “money laundering index”—even adding “and thieves” to the list. This exchange vividly illustrates the dramatic shift in his stance. Fink didn’t shy away from admitting, “My thought process has evolved,” and reiterated that his initial view of cryptocurrency’s potential was mistaken. Such public self-correction is rare among traditional financial giants and symbolizes more than just a personal change of opinion—it represents a collective shift in awareness toward digital assets at the highest levels of Wall Street.

Fink’s transformation is not an isolated event but has occurred alongside BlackRock’s tremendous commercial success in the cryptocurrency space. As a titan managing nearly $10 trillion in assets, BlackRock’s strategic moves are seen as industry bellwethers. When an authority like Fink publicly revises his view, it sends a clear and powerful signal to the broader traditional investment community: digital assets, especially Bitcoin, are no longer fringe assets to be ignored but must be seriously considered as an asset class.

This process of evolution also reflects the cryptocurrency industry’s own development and compliance efforts. The early market did indeed suffer from fraud and regulatory ambiguity, but in recent years, with mainstream institutional participation, increasingly clear regulatory frameworks, and ever-improving infrastructure, the legitimacy and legal foundations of these assets have grown substantially. Fink’s softened stance is an inevitable result of the industry’s maturation.

The Success of IBIT: How It Became the World’s Fastest-Growing ETF

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF is undoubtedly the most solid evidence of this attitude shift. Launched in early 2024 alongside several competitors, the product quickly demonstrated remarkable asset-gathering abilities. To date, IBIT has accumulated over $70 billion in assets, making it not only the largest Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. market but also earning it the title of “world’s fastest-growing ETF.” This achievement has even made IBIT one of the most profitable products in BlackRock’s history.

The success of IBIT is no accident. Its massive asset base puts it alongside Bitcoin whales like MicroStrategy as one of the world’s largest Bitcoin-holding entities. Behind this success are BlackRock’s unparalleled brand reputation, vast advisor network, and meticulous compliance management. For thousands of traditional investors previously deterred by operational complexity or custody concerns, investing through a familiar and trusted channel like BlackRock has greatly reduced both psychological and technical barriers.

IBIT Bitcoin ETF Key Data and Market Position

Assets under management: Over $70 billion

Market position: Largest Bitcoin ETF in the U.S.

Growth title: World’s fastest-growing ETF

Holding comparison: Among the world’s largest Bitcoin holders, alongside MicroStrategy

Internal standing: One of BlackRock’s most profitable product lines

This phenomenon has also sparked in-depth discussion about the “institutionalization” of Bitcoin. The launch of spot ETFs like IBIT has essentially created a regulated, highly liquid price exposure for Bitcoin, allowing it to be seamlessly integrated into existing traditional financial asset allocation models. Massive capital flows continuously through the ETF “conduit,” not only driving up asset prices but also gradually shifting the ownership structure of the Bitcoin market from retail to institutional players, thereby changing the source of its volatility.

Challenges and Opportunities: Volatility, Leverage, and the Future of Tokenization

Despite his positive turn, Fink, as a seasoned financier, remains clear-eyed about market risks. He specifically pointed out that “Bitcoin is still heavily influenced by leveraged traders,” which is a main reason for the asset’s ongoing volatility. For example, the market crash on October 10 and the recent sharp sell-offs both confirm that volatility remains an inherent feature of the cryptocurrency market. While this attracts speculators, it also genuinely hinders broader participation from more conservative capital.

However, the real opportunity as seen by Fink and BlackRock goes far beyond Bitcoin ETFs. They have repeatedly emphasized that “tokenization” is the avenue where cryptocurrency technology can truly revolutionize the traditional financial world. In a jointly authored article with BlackRock COO Rob Goldstein in The Economist, they outlined a vision where all financial assets—from stocks and bonds to real estate and infrastructure—can exist and circulate on the blockchain. Fink sees the core of this idea as “drastically reducing frictional costs, making investing easier and simpler… thereby enabling a freely flowing investment process.”

Tokenization means representing ownership of real-world assets as digital tokens on the blockchain, which brings revolutionary advantages such as settlement times shrinking from days to minutes or even seconds, reduced intermediary fees, increased transparency, and the creation of 24/7 markets. BlackRock’s launch of the BUIDL U.S. dollar institutional digital liquidity fund was a substantial step toward tokenization, aiming to explore the on-chain issuance and management of traditional assets like Treasuries.

Regulatory Path Forward: The Foundation of Market Structure and Industry Development

To turn grand visions like tokenization into reality, a clear and stable regulatory environment is an essential prerequisite. Both Fink and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, who attended the event together, mentioned the current crypto market structure legislation under review by the U.S. Congress—the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (“FIT21”). The bill aims to establish a framework clarifying which regulatory bodies have oversight over specific tokenized assets, thereby solidifying some of the policy achievements made during the Trump administration for the crypto industry.

Armstrong stated that he hopes the Senate will vote on FIT21 “in the coming months.” He further pointed out that only with a solid regulatory foundation can the U.S. truly build solutions to related issues, at which point high-leverage or high-risk activities in the market could decrease. His remarks highlight a core contradiction in the current industry: regulatory uncertainty, to some extent, fuels market speculation and structural risk because the lack of clear rules makes it difficult to plan and implement long-term, robust innovation.

For Wall Street giants like BlackRock, regulatory clarity is their “license to operate” for large-scale, deep participation in the cryptocurrency sector. Without clear rules, exploring certain innovative areas may expose them to unforeseeable compliance risks. Therefore, driving legislation like FIT21 forward is not only the demand of native crypto companies but also an urgent need for traditional financial institutions to deploy more deeply. In the coming months, U.S. Congressional deliberations over the bill will be a key variable shaping the trajectory of the global crypto market.

Larry Fink’s evolution from “skeptic” to “leader” is not just a personal update in perspective, but a microcosm of the accelerating convergence between traditional finance and the crypto world. BlackRock’s commercial success with IBIT provides the most direct proof of Bitcoin’s irreplaceable status in mainstream asset allocation. Looking ahead, as tokenization moves from vision to reality and key regulatory frameworks like FIT21 come into force, a new financial system—more efficient and transparent, shaped by both traditional financial giants and crypto-native forces—is unfolding before us. Short-term market volatility may persist, but the long-term trend propelled by technology, capital, and regulation has become clear.