BlackRock Sets Up a Group to Look at the Crypto Market

Many are anticipating the entry of institutional investors in the world of cryptocurrencies. Many are saying that it’s only a matter of time considering the regulatory changes happening in different parts of the world.

Bitcoin had its much-needed boost when asset-management giant BlackRock has now set up a group that will take a closer look at crypto and blockchain tech. At around 10:32 am on Monday, Bitcoin was able to reach $6,720.84. Right now, Bitcoin is currently trading at $6,716.42 as of writing this article. As Bitcoin spiked by more than 5{4ede17fdd9b4ce8121d01fc4b54913fe84f8215aace504cc657695cefb5329ff}, Ethereum and Ripple increased by around 6{4ede17fdd9b4ce8121d01fc4b54913fe84f8215aace504cc657695cefb5329ff} compared to their price a day ago.

Big Student of Blockchain

Larry Fink who is the CEO of Blackrock mentioned that “We are a big student of blockchain”. He also added that He does not see a “huge demand for cryptocurrencies”.

However, this is quite surprising. Fink actually had a negative stand on cryptos in the past. He mentioned before that “I don’t believe any client has south out crypto exposure” He also said before that Bitcoin is an “index of money laundering”.

The working group isn’t a new development. In fact, it was already existent since 2015.

Institutional Investors Coming?

There are industry experts that are bullish on cryptos mainly because of the probability that the institutional investors are going to become part of the crypto market. Recently, hedge-fund billionaire Steve Cohen’s venture arm Cohen Private Venture already invested in Autonomous Partners which is a crypto-focused investment fund.

Mati Greenspan who is the senior market analyst at eToro said that “It definitely is causing some excitement”. He also added that “The idea of big financial firms moving into crypto certainly isn’t new, and this is a trend we’ve been noticing gaining strength since November”.

Both CME Group and CBOE already launched bitcoin futures products. And with these new products, many are looking at the possibility of institutional involvement in cryptos.

Regulators Making The Change

Regulators are now making a change in terms of how the crypto market is handled in their territory. The US Securities and Exchange Commission considered both Bitcoin and Ethereum not as securities which can be considered good news for the industry. On the other hand, they clarified that there are some ICOs could be considered securities.

For China and South Korea, both countries have banned ICOs. ICOs in during the first quarter of 2018 are able to raise more funds than the entire 2017. In addition to this, it is also worth mentioning that 1 in every 5 has ICOs is a scam.

Ripple, on the other hand, which is the third largest cryptocurrency based on market capitalization has been on a limbo. Right now, Ripple is dealing with lawsuits claiming that it XRP is a security.

It isn’t surprising that the crypto market is already attracting institutional investors. With Bitcoin jumping from $1,000 to almost $20,000 in just one year, it is possible that many of these institutional investors see the potential in this market. And also, it is undeniable that blockchain tech can lead to a number of innovations.