BlackRock CEO Says Russia-Ukraine Conflict Will Accelerate Growth Of Digital Assets

March 25, 2022 6:35 pm Comments

Recently, the CEO of BlackRock, Larry Fink, public mentioned that the Russia-Ukraine conflict will accelerate the growth of crypto and the role that it plays as an alternative financial system.

The conflict is already causing some countries to review their financial dependencies which many have already been doing even before the conflict.

At the time of the announcement, the leading digital asset, Bitcoin, had once again closed above $44k again which may be a sign of the increased interest in the past few months.

Other leading digital assets have also increased significantly in the past month such as XRP and Ethereum with XRP now surpassing 80 cents despite its ongoing lawsuit with the SEC.

Yahoo reports:

On the other hand, open interest in the BTC options market has reached its highest level in 2022 according to data provider Coinglass.

$3.4 billion in the contracts is set to expire Friday, with two thirds of the amount coming from long positions on the derivatives exchange Deribit.

In the letter, Fink highlighted the utility of digital currencies for cross-border payments, which experts in and outside of the crypto sector have also identified.

“A global digital payment system, thoughtfully designed, can enhance the settlement of international transactions while reducing the risk of money laundering and corruption,” wrote Fink.

“Digital currencies can also help bring down costs of cross-border payments, for example when expatriate workers send earnings back to their families.”

The Federal Reserve is also continuing to explore the possibility of a central bank digital currency as a result of the increased use of digital assets due to current events.

Fink’s statements are drastically different from what he said last summer when he said that crypto “had very little investor demand.”

The recent report has now indicated that the firm will now be offering trading services to its clients as there was interest in the space.

This was confirmed by Fink’s letter where he stated that the increasing interest from their clients is causing the firm to modify their strategy regarding crypto.

On another note, the letter also mentioned that the recent conflicts could cause beginning of the end of globalization.

TheBlockCrypto reports:

In the letter, Fink said that the war will intensify some of the trends already brought on by the pandemic when it comes to how nations are connected in the global economy.

“The Russian invasion of Ukraine has put an end to the globalization we have experienced over the last three decades,” he said.

The chairman argued that while the shift in energy sources across the globe due to the war will slow down progress towards zero net emissions in the short term, eventually it will accelerate the shift to greener energy sources.

According to the Fink, the current crisis will push countries to come up with solutions that will secure their access to energy. For many that will mean investing in wind and solar power.

The financial landscape is shifting rapidly in recent years with growing interest in alternative assets these days.

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