The CEO of the biggest asset manager in the world says that gold and cryptocurrencies are “assets of fear.”

In a roundtable discussion at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink says that crypto assets are a legitimate investment for those who want to hedge against “optimism.”

“If you believe that countries are going to continually debase their currency, if you believe that they’re is going to be global rise of insecurity… crypto assets or gold are assets of fear.

You own these assets because you’re frightened of the debasement of your assets, you’re worried about your financial security, you’re worried about your fiscal security, and between crypto assets and gold, there’s a strong belief that it’s a good hedge against optimism.”

In a separate interview with 60 Minutes, Fink says that after being initially skeptical of Bitcoin (BTC), he was eventually forced to rethink it as the technology evolved.

“We were talking about Bitcoin then. It was a domain of money launderers and thieves, but you know, the markets teach you: you have to always relook at your assumptions…

There is a role for crypto in the same way there’s a role for gold. It’s an alternative for those looking to diversify. This is not a bad asset but I don’t believe that it should be a large component of your portfolio.”

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