NDAQ - BlackRock seeks to make bitcoin trading less expensive: Larry Fink

2023-07-05 17:50:52 ET

“It costs a lot of money right now to transact Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ),” BlackRock ( NYSE: BLK ) CEO Larry Fink said in an interview with Fox Business on Wednesday. To level the playing field, the firm last month filed an application to launch an exchange-traded fund that invests directly in the token, sparking a race among fellow asset managers to be the first to market a such a product in the U.S.

“We hope our regulators look at these filings as a way to democratize crypto,” he added, calling bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) an "international asset" in that it's "not based on any one currency and so it can represent an asset that people can play as an alternative."

On Monday, BlackRock ( BLK ) refiled paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission through Nasdaq ( NDAQ ) to roll out its proposed spot bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) ETF to address concerns raised by the regulator that the initial filing was unclear and incomplete. The updated filing added that crypto exchange Coinbase Global ( COIN ) will be a provider of market surveillance for the new product.

“We look at this as an opportunity,” Fink told Fox Business. “We work really closely with our regulators.”

More on Wall Street's foray into crypto:

• EDX Markets launches digital asset market; closes new financing round

• Citigroup said to review crypto custody partnership with Metaco

• Deutsche Bank's DWS reportedly shopping for crypto investments

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