BlackRock CEO Larry Fink Says Tokenisation to Bring in Financial Revolution

Larry Fink, the CEO of the world’s largest asset manager—BlackRock—said the growth of ETFs is a stepping stone on the way to the eventual tokenisation of all financial assets and what he describes as a “technological revolution in financial markets.”

Speaking on Friday on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Fink said that while Bitcoin ETFs are a convenient way to provide traditional investors with exposure to the OG crypto asset, crypto networks will eventually have a far more profound impact on the financial world. 

Fink believes distributed ledgers will eventually be integrated into global financial markets, leading to the tokenisation of all financial assets.

Fink: Tokenisation Revolution Could Combat Corruption

According to Fink, the technological revolution in financial markets is a two-step process, starting with ETFs and leading to tokenisation:

ETFs are step one in the technological revolution in the financial markets. Step two is going to be the tokenization of every financial asset.

Larry Fink, BlackRock CEO

He said that one of the most important benefits of the tokenisation of financial assets was the potential reduction in fraud and corruption:

If you had a tokenized security … the moment you buy or sell an instrument, it’s known it’s on a general ledger that is all created together. … This eliminates all corruption, having a tokenized system.

Larry Fink, BlackRock CEO

The tokenisation of real-world assets has been underway for several years and is gradually seeing more widespread adoption, with assets such as gold, bonds and real estate all being tokenised across various blockchains.

Fink, BlackRock Now Positive On Bitcoin

After many years as a Bitcoin naysayer, Fink changed his stance around 2021 and now says the technology offers several advantages. 

Speaking with Fox News on Friday the BlackRock CEO discussed his new position:

I did believe, and this is Gary’s (Gensler) position, that it’s still one of the vehicles for illicit activity, I think no one can deny that. Where I came around to it, and I came around to a different interpretation three years ago – that there’s a lot of merit to it. There is a lot of opportunity, it is a great store, and this is where you can debate, it’s a good store of value.

Larry Fink, BlackRock CEO

Fink went on to say that Bitcoin can be used by individuals to protect their wealth as economic conditions become less predictable, likening it to gold in this respect:

If you’re in a country where you’re fearful of your government, and maybe this is one of the reasons why China has banned it… If you’re in a country where you’re fearful for your future, fearful of your government or you’re frightened that your government is devaluing its currency… you could say this a great potential long-term store of value and, as I said, it’s like digital gold.

Larry Fink, BlackRock CEO