This is news that will undoubtedly breathe new life into the young cryptocurrency industry.
It will give wings to digital currency evangelists and strengthen their marketing argument that the future belongs to cryptocurrencies.
BlackRock (BLK), one of the world's largest asset managers, is exploring how best to help clients interested in the crypto sphere, unnamed sources told TheStreet on Thursday. One of the avenues that Larry Fink's group is exploring is how to allow its clients to trade on its internal Aladdin platform, the sources said.
The firm has not made a decision yet.
BlackRock, which had $10.01 trillion assets under management as of December 31 from public pension schemes, endowments and sovereign wealth funds, developed Aladdin, a cutting-edge technology platform for managing investments and financial operations. This platform is used by institutional investors, including asset managers, pension funds, insurers and corporate treasurers.
There's an ongoing debate internally, and BlackRock may never come to a company-wide decision on cryptocurrencies, cautioned the sources. Therefore, these investors believe small investments in Bitcoin for example, in limited portions, might be appropriate for a portfolio, according to the sources. On the other hand, other investors feel complete opposite.
BlackRock declined to comment.
Coindesk was the first to report on the news.
If BlackRock allowed its clients to use Aladdin to trade cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, ethereum or solana, it would be a huge blow for the cryptosphere as it could be a signal to institutional investors that the sector may be more reliable than they think.
The electrical vehicle manufacturer Tesla (TSLA) and the consulting firm KPMG, via its Canadian subsidiary, are two large well-established companies that have currently invested in cryptocurrencies or have cryptocurrencies in their balance sheet.
If BlackRock does not yet have bitcoin in its balance sheet, the New York firm has exposure to bitcoin through its stake in the capital of the technology firm MicroStrategy (MSTR) that holds bitcoins worth more than $5.37 billion as of time of writing according to Bitcoin Treasuries.
