Salim Ramji, global head of ETFs and index investments at investment titan BlackRock, offered some high praise for blockchain in a recent interview with London-based Financial News, claiming that the technology, which underlies Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, is "incredibly" disruptive and innovative.
The senior executive underscored blockchain's potential to boost the efficiency of financial markets.
Ramji's upbeat comments about blockchain come after Blackrock launched an ETF that tracks a basket of 41 blockchain-related companies. Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., makes up the biggest share of the product's holdings.
Yet, BlackRock is not sold on crypto itself just yet. Ramji told the outlet that it still had no intention of rolling out its own Bitcoin product despite the fact that major financial companies, such as Fidelity, have come up with their ETF applications. He explains that BlackRock has to live up to expectations in terms of quality and regulatory compliance.
Tomiwabold OlajideIn April, BlackRock entered into a partnership with USD Coin issuer Circle, which includes capital-market applications for the second-largest stablecoin. Ramji claims that the deal has been a success.
The world's largest asset manager, which boasts roughly $10 trillion worth of assets, dabbled in Bitcoin futures last year, but it is yet to embrace the top cryptocurrency in the way many other Wall Street giants did.
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov