Bitcoin’s (BTC) recent rally is “an example of demand in crypto,” says BlackRock CEO Larry Funk.
The bitcoin (BTC) market saw a two-month high rally on Monday, with prices rising after the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved BlackRock's application for a bitcoin ETF. Interest in crypto,” BlackRock CEO Larry Fink commented in an interview with Fox Business on Monday.
“We're hearing about the importance of crypto from customers around the world,” Fink said.
Fink stated that it cannot comment on the spot Bitcoin ETF application process.
But he noted that the recent Bitcoin rally may be due to the need for a safe haven, citing issues surrounding the Israeli war and global terrorism.
Don't be suspicious of Fink
BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager and a household name on Wall Street, filed to launch a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in June.
The June implementation marked a complete reversal of BlackRock CEO Larry Fink's views on Bitcoin.
In the year In 2017, Fink was referring to Bitcoin as an index of financial fraud, but in 2023 he is now praising the cryptocurrency as digital gold.
The SEC has previously rejected all similar Bitcoin ETF applications, but BlackRock's application included a new market monitoring and data sharing agreement designed to make it easier for the SEC to avoid any market manipulation.
BlackRock's initial application was followed by dozens of other major US financial institutions rushing to submit their own copycat applications.
BlackRock and other major firms such as Fidelity and Vanguard are considered to have significant influence by US financial regulators and the government, and ETF applications are approved if they don't feel like much — for that reason, most analysts say. If the latest Bitcoin ETF applications are approved, it feels unlikely.
Will Bitcoin ETFs Appear Next March?
Boosting the market's confidence that Bitcoin ETF applications are on the way was the SEC's decision last week not to appeal its recent legal loss over its decision to disallow Grayscale's application to convert the Greyscale Bitcoin Trust into an ETF.
In August, a US judge rejected the SEC's application for Greyscale, and the deadline for the SEC to appeal that decision was last week.
The agency's decision not to fight the judge's decision could be a sign that the agency is preparing itself to approve a number of Bitcoin ETFs positions in the coming months.
The SEC's deadline for a ruling on BlackRock and dozens of other spot bitcoin ETF applications submitted to the agency in June is around mid-March 2024.
Mass narratives for 2024
If these applications get the green light, this could be a key bullish narrative for Bitcoin in 2024.
The approval of the Spot Bitcoin ETF can be seen as a regulatory “stamp of approval” that increases investor confidence in Bitcoin as an asset, especially among institutional investors.
It also makes it much easier for investors who don't understand the ins and outs of Web3 and deal with crypto exchanges to invest in Bitcoin with their existing brokers.
Spot Bitcoin ETF issuers are expected to devote large marketing budgets to promoting their new ETFs.
The halving of Bitcoin's issuance rate in April is another highly touted bullish narrative for 2024, as well as a possible pivot from the Federal Reserve on interest rate policy.
BTC price rallies to new all-time highs typically occur in the quarter following Bitcoin halving events.
Meanwhile, financial conditions have had a strong positive correlation with Bitcoin in recent years, with Bitcoin tending to perform well in easy/easing conditions, and underperform in strong/consolidating financial conditions.
