BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and Michael Dell in Bitcoin fever

Larry Fink is considered the most influential person in the financial industry. The co-founder and CEO of BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, has already attracted attention in recent months with pro-Bitcoin statements. Yesterday, the billionaire went one better on the US television channel CNBC.

Fink's latest statements on Bitcoin went viral and even Michael Dell, CEO and founder of the computer company Dell, and probably also a Bitcoin sympathizer, shared the video.

Larry Fink was a guest on CNBC on the occasion of his company's quarterly results announced yesterday. At the end of the interview, stock market commentator Jim Cramer finally asked Fink about Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.

As Larry Fink's company is obviously betting on the asset, Cramer asks whether the BlackRock CEO really thinks that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are an alternative that can provide protection against government budget deficits. After all, escalating national debt usually goes hand in hand with the devaluation of the national currency. The obvious narrative is that Bitcoin could protect investors against this risk due to the limited money supply.

The billionaire agrees directly and goes further. Although the question also mentioned "crypto" and Ethereum, Fink's answers are ultimately all about Bitcoin.

As you know, I was a skeptic. I was a proud skeptic, and I studied it, learned about it, and came to the conclusion: Okay, my opinion was wrong for five years. [...] I believe that Bitcoin is legitimate.
_{Larry Fink}

In 2017, Fink still referred to Bitcoin as an "index for money laundering". However, the successful entrepreneur seems to have been open-minded enough to question his opinion and approach the topic from a different angle. An often recognizable pattern is that personalities who are on fire for Bitcoin today were critics in previous years.

Although Fink does not want to deny to CNBC that Bitcoin is also used for bad things, he goes on to explain why and in which scenarios Satoshi Nakamoto's creation is interesting as an investment.

It's a legitimate financial instrument that can perhaps [...] generate uncorrelated returns. [...] It's a tool if you think countries are devaluing their currency by running excessive deficits - some countries are doing that. I think there are countries where you have existential fears. You have the opportunity to invest in something that's outside of your country's control and you can gain more financial control. So I firmly believe that Bitcoin can play an important role in portfolios. [...] I think of it as digital gold, as I've said before.
_{Larry Fink}

According to Larry Fink, Bitcoin is an asset that can also be invested in driven by mistrust or fear and - like the precious metal gold - can also decouple itself from the traditional financial markets in crisis situations. This is what the billionaire means when he tells CNBC that Bitcoin can be a "protection against optimism". Some convinced Bitcoiners would probably strongly disagree, as they see Bitcoin itself as the hope for a better world.

One such person is Michael Saylor, billionaire and founder of MicroStrategy, a company that relies on Bitcoin. He has secured the domain hope.com and makes Bitcoin education accessible there. Being positive about the asset does not necessarily mean seeing the world from a pessimistic perspective and assuming the worst.

There have been Bitcoin-related theories about Michael Dell, the founder and CEO of the computer company named after him, for several weeks now. With a net worth of over 100 billion US dollars, Dell is the fourteenth wealthiest person in the world. He recently revealed himself to be a Bitcoin sympathizer.

Larry Fink and Michael Dell are not the only influential billionaires who have already made themselves known as Bitcoin sympathizers. They include Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and even Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple.

It is only logical that, as its success continues to grow, more and more people are coming to terms with Bitcoin and giving the asset another chance, even if they have demonized it in the past. Even Michael Saylor was a Bitcoin skeptic many years ago.

It remains to be seen whether other influential people will come out as Bitcoin sympathizers in the future and what consequences this will have - such as Bitcoin purchases by large public limited companies.