BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager, overseeing more than $10 trillion in assets.
BlackRock’s CEO, Larry Fink, says the firm is actively evaluating what’s possible when it comes to offering digital asset services and investments to clients.
“With growing client interest, BlackRock is studying digital currencies, stablecoins, and the underlying technologies to understand how they can help us serve our clients,” Fink wrote in a letter released Thursday.
He also addressed the potential benefits of digital currencies and digital payment systems as corporations and governments increasingly explore the space.
“A carefully designed global digital payments system could strengthen cross-border settlement while reducing risks such as money laundering and corruption,” he added.
According to Fink, the use of digital currencies could lower the costs associated with cross-border payments. He cited migrants sending money to families abroad as an example of people who could particularly benefit from reduced fees and faster transfers.
“We Serve Our Clients”
While BlackRock manages more than $10 trillion in assets, Fink stressed that the firm acts on behalf of its clients and manages their money for their benefit.
“The money we manage belongs to our clients. To serve them, we strive to understand how global changes will affect their investment outcomes,” he told shareholders.
His remarks came in the context of the Russia-Ukraine war, noting that the era of globalization seen over the past three decades appears to be coming to an end.
Although he still believes in the concept and benefits of globalization, including global capital markets, Fink said the war has altered the landscape. He warned that corporate and governmental responses, and what might follow, will have wide-ranging effects.
He added that the war, on top of the global pandemic’s impact, will propagate effects “in ways we cannot yet fully predict for decades to come.”