BlackRock CEO Larry Fink 'sees value' in spot Ethereum ETF following successful Bitcoin launch

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said he “sees value” in having a spot Ethereum ETF launching in the U.S. in an interview with CNBC today, following a successful first trading day for the company’s new spot Bitcoin ETF product (IBIT) yesterday.

BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) reached $1.05 billion in trading volume on Thursday, surpassing BITO’s $1 billion first-day bitcoin futures ETF volume in 2021. “These are just stepping stones towards tokenization and I really do believe this is where we're going to be going,” Fink added.

"I don't believe it's ever going to be a currency. I believe it's an asset class,” Fink said. “It’s no different than what gold represented over thousands of years,” he added. "Unlike gold, we’re almost at the ceiling of the amount of bitcoin that can be created.”

BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a spot Ethereum ETF in November last year, five months after it filed for its spot Bitcoin ETF product in June.

Called the iShares Ethereum Trust, BlackRock again selected Coinbase Custody as the custodian for its proposed spot Ethereum ETF, aligning with its spot Bitcoin ETF selection.

Fink co-founded BlackRock in 1988, and under his leadership, the firm has grown significantly, with trillions of dollars in assets under management. In October, Fink said he'd been hearing "from clients from around the world about the need for crypto." 

Yesterday, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas estimated there is a 70% possibility for the approval of spot Ethereum ETF funds from the SEC by May, with the first final decision deadline for the agency on an application from Ark and 21Shares due on May 23.