In a further shift in the digital asset space, the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, has shown strong alignment with blockchain social networks, particularly Ethereum, in addition to other permitted alternatives. This important insight emerged during “Beyond Bitcoin ETFs – What’s Next on the Institutional Roadmap?” panel at Coinbase’s State of Crypto Summit 2024 on Thursday.
BlackRock has doubled down on Ethereum
Samara Cohen, BlackRock’s Chief Investment Officer for ETF and Index Investments, has delivered a definitive verdict on the emergence of blockchain technology in financial markets. Cohen said, “A few years ago we thought that private permissioned blockchains would lead. Now we can see that public blockchains are better for the ecosystem. “
His remarks at the conference reflected a broad consensus that has been quietly forming among traditional market participants who favor open source platforms like Ethereum to avoid financial fragmentation and ensure broad, efficient market participation.
Blackrock CIO of ETF & Index Investments @Samaraepcohen he said today at the Coinbase event that permissioned blockchains are lost, and that traditional market participants are coming together around open source. #Ethereum to make tokens, so you don’t split the money 👍
— matthew sigel, recovering CFA (@matthew_sigel) June 13, 2024
This pivot coincides with a recent move by BlackRock, which launched its first tokenization project on the Ethereum blockchain in March. In partnership with Securitize, a US company, BlackRock is launching an “Institutional Digital Liquidity” fund. The move brought the first $100 million in capital, which is denominated in USD Coin (USDC), to the platform. The fund primarily invests in cash, short-term debt securities, and US Treasury bonds, using the structure of Ethereum to facilitate its operations.
Hunter Horsley, CEO of Bitwise, also confirmed BlackRock’s shift to public blockchains. Speaking separately, Horsley emphasized the definitive end to the long-running debate between the merits of permissioned versus permissioned blockchains, asserting, “This has been a debate. In silence, the will is settled: there is no consent.”
Anthony Sassano, a well-known angel investor, consultant and founder of Daily Gwei commented: “Read this carefully and digest it. An executive at BlackRock (the world’s largest asset manager) tells you that the future is public blockchains – specifically, that the future is Ethereum! If this doesn’t make you stronger, nothing will.”
The panel discussions also featured insights from other financial leaders such as Sandy Kaul, Senior Vice President at Franklin Templeton, and Alesia Haas, CFO of Coinbase. The theme of the panel emphasized the year 2024 as important for the deep integration of crypto currencies and traditional financial sectors (TradFi) through tools like ETFs and asset tokenization.
The consensus among these financial leaders underscores an important trend: the integration of blockchain technology into mainstream financial practices is not only increasing but doing so through platforms that provide transparency, accessibility, and comprehensive management. The popularity of Ethereum over the blockchains allowed by institutions such as BlackRock marks a significant development.
At press time, ETH traded at $3,522.
The featured image was created with DALL·E, a chart from TradingView.com
