BlackRock CEO Larry Fink: Very Optimistic About Market in Next 12 Months and Positive on Crypto Stability
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink stated in a CNBC interview on July 15 that he is "very optimistic" about the market in the next 12 months, noting that Bitcoin and the crypto market are more stable after a leverage washout.
Fink said, "I am very optimistic about the market in the next 12 months. I believe the technological revolution will bring better profit margins for more companies." He also mentioned that he had previously been concerned about excessive leverage in Bitcoin and the crypto space, which led to a washout, but the market is now more stable at current levels. He added that the overall leverage in the financial system is much lower than during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, and while there are localized risks, they are limited in scale.
At the time of this statement, BlackRock had just reported a 31% year-on-year increase in second-quarter revenue to $7.1 billion, with adjusted operating profit margins rising to nearly 46%, the highest in five years. The company's assets under management reached a record approximately $15.3 trillion, with the iShares business, including the leading Bitcoin ETF (IBIT), contributing significantly to inflows. Over the past 12 months, BlackRock has increased its profit margins by 260 basis points through technology applications and added about $1 trillion in assets without increasing headcount.
Fink had previously taken a more cautious stance on crypto but has recently publicly supported tokenization, stating it lowers investment barriers and could become the next generation of the financial system. BlackRock has launched spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, with IBIT becoming one of the fastest-growing ETF products in history. In its 2026 outlook, the company lists crypto and tokenized assets as important themes and suggests allocating 1-2% Bitcoin in portfolios (shifting from stocks).
Bitcoin had previously dropped over 50% from its high of about $126,000 in October 2025, which Fink attributed to leverage deleveraging, slowing institutional inflows, and large holders selling, rather than changes in fundamentals. He emphasized that productivity and profit margin expansion driven by technology will support a broader market.
These remarks signal event-driven market sentiment. Funds may flow into Bitcoin ETFs and other crypto products managed by BlackRock, benefiting from its channel effect as the largest asset management firm. Beneficiaries include investors holding products like IBIT and BlackRock itself (through fee income and asset inflows), while those under pressure are participants still holding high-leverage positions and short sellers questioning short-term stability.
Source: Public Information
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Larry Fink has long served as CEO of BlackRock, which has expanded from traditional passive index and ETF businesses into digital assets. BlackRock launched its spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) in 2024, quickly accumulating significant assets and continuing to promote the narrative of tokenization. Fink initially had a skeptical view of Bitcoin but later publicly supported it as a tool for portfolio allocation and upgrading the financial system, while emphasizing the need for leverage risk to be cleaned up.
In terms of capital pathways, BlackRock channels institutional and retail funds into Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs through its iShares platform while exploring tokenized stocks, bonds, and money market funds. The motivation is to capture fee flows from digital assets and address low participation in traditional assets, with specific actions including issuing ETFs, recommending a 1-2% allocation, and predicting significant expansion of the tokenized market in shareholder letters. The company leverages technology to enhance its profit margins while using the narrative of crypto stability to attract long-term capital.
This contrasts with the more cautious approach of traditional asset management giants like Vanguard towards crypto and resembles early ETF issuers expanding indexing from institutions to the general public. Currently, BlackRock is in an expansion phase of integrating crypto from a fringe product into mainstream allocations, rather than merely speculating or engaging in regulatory battles.
Essentially, this represents a transfer of pricing power and restructuring of the industry chain. As crypto shifts from being dominated by high-leverage retail to institutional channel allocations, price discovery and access thresholds partially transfer to ETF issuers and custodians. The mechanism at play is that leverage washout reduces short-term volatility shocks, allowing large asset management firms to incorporate digital assets into standard portfolios with lower risk, thereby bringing previously fragmented on-chain liquidity into regulated traditional financial channels.
ABAB News · Cognitive Law
- Stability enters mainstream allocation only after leverage washout
- Channel controllers capture fee flows from digital assets
- Technological profit margin expansion supports broader risk appetite