The world’s largest exchange-traded fund (ETF) provider BlackRock has announced the creation of a working group to investigate a possible entry into Bitcoin (BTC) futures trading, Financial News (FN) reported today, July 16th.
The move would be a 180-degree turn for BlackRock, as the company had spoken out against cryptocurrencies in the past. Following the example of competitor Goldman Sachs, the cross-industry working group led by BlackRock is to investigate, among other things, whether the company should invest in Bitcoin (BTC) futures, reports FN.
In a general commentary to FN, a spokeswoman for BlackRock announced that the company had been “looking at Blockchain for several years.” Cryptocurrencies were not mentioned.
On the other hand, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein is said to have told the media that Bitcoin (BTC) “is not for him” before he suddenly announced that a dedicated research team was investigating how Goldman could offer a range of crypto-related services to meet customers demands.
BlackRock exchange-traded fund (ETF) provider follows Goldman Sachs steps and explores Bitcoin (BTC) futures trading advantages
BlackRock seems to match the actions made by Goldman Sachs, despite the fact that managing director Larry Fink described Bitcoin (BTC), shortly before the currency’s all-time high last year, as “an instrument for money laundering.”
In February 2018, the company announced that it was investigating cryptocurrency solutions and was considering a “broader” application in the future.
BlackRock recorded revenues of almost $6.3 billion in 2017.
The bottom line of the news is that institutional funds seem to be waiting for an ideal entry point, as many commentators on the scene describe it. Over the weekend, CNBC’s trade advisor Ran Neuner suggested that a future influx of institutional money in 2017 will make it look like a warm-up.
BTC surged by 4 percent in just 2 hours this morning, apparently due to the bullish news that BlackRock aims Bitcoin (BTC) futures. At the time of this article, BTC trades at $6,622 appreciating by about 4% in the last 24 hours.
