Compass Investments

According to BlackRock, the largest investors see bitcoin primarily as digital gold, while its use for settlement is still seen as a secondary consideration.

The view of Bitcoin as a digital gold asset is prevalent among institutional players, while the idea of its use as a global payment system is being relegated to the background. This position was voiced by Robbie Mitchnik, head of digital assets at BlackRock, in a conversation on Nov. 20, where he outlined the priorities of major wealth managers. Mitchnik explained that clients of leading asset management companies are not yet betting on bitcoin as an element of the future payment system. “I believe that we and most of our clients are not currently focused on it as a global network for payments, said the representative of BlackRock.

He did not completely reject the idea of using bitcoin for transactions, but characterized such a scenario as “a little more hypothetical” compared to its function as a savings asset. The top executive emphasized that such a transition would require significant technological improvements to make it a reality:

“It would take significant advances in bitcoin scaling, the Lightning Network and other aspects to make it a reality, he explained.

evertheless, Mitchnik agreed that digital assets are already changing the way value moves, most notably through stablecoins.

Stablecoins do have tremendous market potential as a means of payment and a way to efficiently move value, he concluded.