BTC is trying to surpass $65,000 again and reached $65,300 while writing this, but it is still not in a safe zone. BTC price falling below $63,500 caused altcoin investors to see bigger losses. So, what is the current situation if we look beyond short-term movements to the long term?
BlackRock and Cryptocurrencies
Many questions were answered by Robert Mitchnick, BlackRock’s head of digital assets, at the Bitcoin conference that started on Thursday. On Saturday, Donald Trump will speak at the same event, and we will see statements from important figures throughout the event. BlackRock official’s statements focused on cryptocurrencies may give investors some ideas. So, what questions did he answer?
Which Cryptocurrencies Are Gaining Interest?
Mitchnick says that BlackRock’s clients, being the world’s largest asset manager, are primarily interested in Bitcoin. Following that, there is less interest in Ethereum. What about other altcoins? He mentioned that interest in them is very low compared to these two cryptocurrencies.
Will There Be New Altcoin ETFs?
The BlackRock official does not think we will see a long list of crypto ETFs here. BlackRock did not participate in the VanEck and 21Shares applications for SOL Coin. The asset manager currently has two crypto ETFs named iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA). There are also tokenized US bonds launched on the Ethereum network under the name BUILD.
Insights for Investors
Key takeaways from BlackRock’s stance on cryptocurrencies include:
- Bitcoin remains the primary focus for large asset managers.
- There is a significantly lower interest in altcoins compared to Bitcoin and Ethereum.
- BlackRock is unlikely to introduce a wide range of new altcoin ETFs in the near future.
- BTC and ETH are seen as complementary assets rather than competitors.
Are Bitcoin and Ethereum Rivals?
Mitchnick says that most BlackRock clients see BTC and ETH as complementary rather than rivals. This indicates that people will not sell BTC ETFs to buy ETH ETFs but will instead allocate a separate budget for ETH, perhaps at a lower portfolio percentage, to diversify their investments.
“The entire store of value use case in crypto is quite definitively Bitcoin’s domain. ETH mostly tries to do a range of different applications that Bitcoin does not attempt. So, they are not substitutes or rivals; they complement each other,” Mitchnick stated.