BlackRock is not interested in other cryptocurrencies apart from Bitcoin and Ether. At least that's what Robert Mitchnick, the giant's chief digital asset officer, says. Bitcoin is the number one asset of this type, he added.
BlackRock only bets on BTC and ETH
At the beginning of this year, the BTC ETF was created. Additionally, there are still chances to set up an ether fund. All this has raised hopes among investors that more ETFs will be created based on other cryptocurrencies. Now, however, it turns out that there is little chance of this happening.
Mitchnick he saidthat bitcoin is “overwhelmingly the number one priority” for BlackRock's customer base.
Then some Ethereum and very little of everything else
– he added during Friday's Bitcoin Investor Day conference, a meeting of institutional entities dealing with capital allocation in BTC.
When asked if there are any chances for ETFs of digital assets other than BTC and ETH, he replied:
It's just not what we focus on.
On the one hand, the company may be surprised. Its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) is the most successful bitcoin ETF market to date, recording $13.3 billion in total inflows and cementing its position in the industry. However, it is possible that BlackRock assumes that subsequent ETFs would only take capital from IBIT and therefore sees no point in creating them.
A survey conducted by Bitwise and published in January also suggests that there may be no room for other funds. It showed that 71% of investment advisors preferred bitcoin to ether. They were probably not interested in other cryptocurrencies.
The future of bitcoin
The BlackRock expert was also asked about the role of bitcoin on Wall Street in the next ten years. Mitchnick said:
We expect that convergence will eventually occur, where the best elements of the old system and new technology will be combined into a new financial infrastructure system.
Even if ETH ETFs are approved, experts doubt these funds will gain the same popularity as their bitcoin counterparts.
