BlackRock CEO Says War in Ukraine Could Speed Up Cryptocurrency Adoption

According to Larry Fink, the CEO of American multinational investment management corporation BlackRock, the war in Ukraine could accelerate the adoption of digital currencies by central banks.

The CEO made the remark in his annual letter to shareholders on Thursday.

While he didn’t mention any specific cryptocurrencies, he wrote about the potential of central bank digital currencies.

The CEO of the $10 trillion-asset money manager called it one of the “less discussed” outcomes of the war, which began one month ago, in his letter.

“The war will prompt countries to re-evaluate their currency dependencies,” he said. “Even before the war, several governments were looking to play a more active role in digital currencies and define the regulatory frameworks under which they operate.”

Fink cited the U.S. Federal Reserve as an example, which recently published a white paper examining the pros and cons of a potential U.S. central bank digital currency.

“A global digital payment system, thoughtfully designed, can enhance the settlement of international transactions while reducing the risk of money laundering and corruption,” Fink added.

“Digital currencies can also help bring down costs of cross-border payments, for example when expatriate workers send earnings back to their families.”

BlackRock clients have shown “increasing interest” in digital currencies, including stablecoins and “the underlying technologies” – also known as blockchain – Fink added.

The company has been studying the emerging asset class to “to understand how they can help us serve our clients” as a result.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.