BlackRock’s US Head of Thematics and Active ETFs, Jay Jacobs, said there is plenty of room for Bitcoin adoption. Jay still estimates a market of Brazilian Real 30 trillion ( ~ $5.4 trillion) in the coming years.
The executive attended the Digital Assets Conference in Brazil on Thursday. Mercado Bitcoin promoted the event in partnership with CME Group, Deribit, and Fireblock.
BlackRock is the largest fund manager on the planet and one of the first to have authorization and issue Bitcoin ETFs in the US.
Why do Investors Demand Bitcoin?
Jacobs said the fund manager began looking at Bitcoin after growing demand from clients looking for different assets in portfolios.
“They (investors) want something other than stocks and bonds. If you look at the last couple of years, there has been this growing correlation between stocks and bonds. It has been very difficult to achieve diversification, particularly in an environment of higher rates. And then people have actually tried to scour the opportunity to get alternatives. Maybe this is going to private markets,” Jacobs explained.
Read more: Who Owns the Most Bitcoin in 2024?
In addition, another demand that drove BTC adoption at BlackRock was sophisticated investors who wanted a more liquid portfolio to diversify investments.
That said, BlackRock now manages nearly 370,000 BTC, emerging as one of the largest Bitcoin holders. It has already surpassed MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin holding and now only lags behind Satoshi Nakamoto and crypto exchange Binance.
According to the latest data from SoSoValue, BlackRock’s iShare Bitcoin Trust’s (IBIT) Bitcoin stash is worth $22.33 billion.
BlackRock’s Bitcoin Valuation. Source: SoSoValue
When asked about the BTC rally, Jacobs said he could not answer. Nonetheless, he believes that diversifying investments with the most valuable cryptocurrency on the market is an assertive strategy.
“It is difficult to paint a picture for each portfolio. What we have found is that it really is more important to look at certain types of investors who can withstand volatility, who can withstand the falls, who have a long-term view,” Jacobs said.
Moreover, Jacobs indicated that BlackRock is also focused on Bitcoin education.
“We want to make it accessible and we want to help people understand Bitcoin first and foremost,” Jacobs stated.
Read more: Bitcoin (BTC) Price Prediction 2024/2025/2030
For Jacobs, Bitcoin is a monetary alternative, while Ethereum is more of a bet on blockchain adoption. The executive said that one of the trends that are changing the world today is geopolitical fragmentation. This is currently changing supply chains.
“We also see the emergence of AI for more technology growth, more technology adoption and digitalization. We see demographic changes around the world. We see aging populations in some countries, others very young in emerging markets. I think this could be another favorable wind for digital assets. Markets where digital assets may be most relevant also have the majority of Millennials and Gen Z who will be the most digital native,” Jacobs concluded.
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