BlackRock's Fink Says Crypto Technology Still Relevant Despite FTX

PHOTO: BlackRock CEO Larry Fink attends the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit in New York.

Written by Carolina Mandel

NEW YORK (Reuters) - BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said on Wednesday that it looked like "bad behavior" from defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, but that the technology behind the cryptocurrency was important for the future.

"Let's wait and see how things go (with FTX)," Fink said. "Today we can make all judicial decisions, and any bad behavior seems to have serious consequences."

He made the comments at an event hosted by The New York Times DelBuck, adding that he believes most crypto companies "will not exist" in the future.

On Nov. 11, FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, saying it could owe money to more than 1 million U.S. creditors after a rapid decline.

BlackRock says it has invested $24 million in FTX through a billionaire fund it manages. Other global asset managers such as Temasek Holdings, venture capital fund Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital have also invested in Sam Bankman-Fried FTX.

Despite all the problems with FTX, Fink considers the technology behind the cryptocurrency to be "very important." "I think the next generation of markets and the next generation of securities will be securities," he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen expressed skepticism about cryptocurrencies and called for regulation.

Fink paints a gloomy picture of the economy, citing above-normal inflation, high interest rates and low growth, and room for fiscal stimulus.

"We're really entering what I call a period of pain," he said. We will not get the real economic growth that we had before.

However, he believes that the investment environment is more favorable, especially for investments that increase with interest.

(Reporting by Caroline Mandel in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

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