Rick Rieder, BlackRock’s chief investment officer of global fixed income and head of the global allocation team, recently made notably positive comments regarding Bitcoin during an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
“Bitcoin is an interesting asset,” said Rieder. “I think it’s durable. I think it will be part of the investment arena for years to come.”
Rieder was asked his opinion on Bitcoin in light of Elon Musk’s recent announcement that Tesla will be halting acceptance of the largest cryptocurrency as payment for its electric vehicles due to environmental concerns.
“[There are] some … hurdles to overcome, and I think [Musk] was mentioning one of them,” shared Rieder. He later added some challenges he currently sees regarding Bitcoin, such as volatility, regulatory dynamics and fiat currency concerns.
Finally, Rieder claimed that although he thinks these challenges are real, “they will be overcome over time,” as bitcoin gets more mature. Rieder sees bitcoin as an asset rather than a potential fix to some of the world’s current monetary problems.
BlackRock is an asset manager that has been in operation for over 32 years in the United States and it recently hit a record $9 trillion in assets under management (AUM). The company does own bitcoin, as Rieder noted in the interview.