From Skepticism to Embrace: How BlackRock’s CEO Reshaped the Bitcoin Narrative
In 2017, when Bitcoin was mired in price fluctuations and negative news, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink publicly denounced it as a “money laundering tool,” stating that its anonymity and decentralized structure threatened the traditional financial system. Eight years later, in January 2025, the same Fink asserted at the Davos Forum: Bitcoin price It may rise to 700,000 USD and is referred to as an “international tool” to overcome the fear of currency devaluation. Behind this dramatic shift lies not only a cognitive iteration from a financial giant but also reflects a fundamental reconstruction of the relationship between the traditional financial world and crypto assets.
The Prelude to Change: Crisis Gives Rise to the “Digital Gold” Narrative
Fink’s shift began with the economic turmoil triggered by the global pandemic in 2020. In the face of massive money printing by central banks and concerns over inflation, the fixed supply of 21 million Bitcoins and its decentralized nature were re-examined. Fink started to acknowledge that Bitcoin could evolve into a global asset, potentially challenging the status of the US dollar. Meanwhile, the entry of institutional funds quietly accelerated: in 2021, BlackRock included Bitcoin futures products in two of its funds for the first time, taking a substantial step forward. The gradual clarification of regulatory frameworks and the increasing acceptance by institutions paved the way for Fink’s change in stance.
The Revolution of Action: ETF Ignites Institutional Influx
On January 11, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), marking a key event that reshapes the industry landscape. This product quickly became the biggest hit in ETF history: within a year, its assets under management surpassed $50 billion, and its net asset inflow ranked third among all categories of ETFs. More intriguingly, 75% of IBIT investors had never held other BlackRock products, making Bitcoin a portal for attracting new funds. By June 2025, the size of the BlackRock IBIT fund had exceeded $70 billion, becoming the fastest ETF product in history to surpass $70 billion in assets under management. Its spot ETF holdings rapidly surpassed 661,000 BTC, substantiating the shift in strategic focus.
The Future Bet: The Ultimate Game Between BTC and Dollar Hegemony
In April 2025, Fink issued a shocking warning in his annual letter to investors: if U.S. debt spirals out of control, the dollar’s status as the reserve currency may be replaced by Bitcoin. He pointed out sharply that the U.S. debt as a percentage of GDP has soared from 105% in 2018 to 122.3% in 2023, with a national debt of $36.2 trillion hanging like a sword of Damocles. Within this framework, Bitcoin is no longer just “digital gold” but a macro hedging tool against sovereign credit risk. Fink creatively incorporates Bitcoin into a broader vision of financial democratization—he proposes that “tokenization is democratization,” believing that blockchain technology can achieve infinite asset fragmentation, lower investment barriers, and make it possible for ordinary people to hold tangible assets like airports and pipelines.
“Two things can happen at the same time,” Fink emphasized while describing the duality of digital assets, “it is both a disruptive innovation and contains geopolitical risks.”
From a mocking money laundering tool to acknowledging its potential to undermine the dollar hegemony, Fink’s transformation symbolizes the fracturing of traditional financial barriers. When a $10 trillion asset management giant writes Bitcoin into its strategic core, a narrative war over value storage and monetary sovereignty has erupted above Wall Street. BlackRock’s story reminds the world: turning points in financial history often begin with an unpromising awakening.
