BlackRock chief says customer demand for cryptocurrency is high

The head of BlackRock Larry Fink spoke about the high demand of clients for cryptocurrency

According to Larry Fink, cryptocurrency will increasingly be associated with safe assets

Larry Fink, CEO of investment firm BlackRock, said in an interview on Fox Business that the sharp rise in the price of the first digital currency, caused by false rumors about the approval of a spot bitcoin ETF, is the result of "accumulated interest in cryptocurrencies."

Fink said he could not comment on the status of his own company's application for ETF approval but is constantly "hearing from clients around the world about the need for cryptocurrencies."

"I think the current rise in bitcoin is due to the fact that digital currency is moving into the safe-haven asset category, especially with all the issues surrounding the conflict in Israel and global terrorism. I think more and more people will invest in safe assets, whether it's bonds, gold or cryptocurrency. And I believe cryptocurrency will increasingly be associated with safe assets," Fink said in an interview.

On Monday, amid rumors of the approval of the iShares spot ETF, bitcoin's exchange rate soared to $30,000 at one point before collapsing to $28,000 after the news was denied. Due to sharp rate hikes, 33.2 thousand traders' positions totaling $154.33 million were liquidated on crypto exchanges overnight.

The head of Blackrock in recent months has become an active supporter of Bitcoin. A few months ago, in an interview with Bloomberg, Fink called bitcoin "digital gold" and expressed hope that regulators would help "democratize cryptocurrencies."