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It's no secret that cryptocurrencies have been on struggle street in recent months.
In June, a three day bloodbath saw Bitcoin investors bleed funds to the tune of about $7.3 billion ($AUD 10.5m, £4.1m), according to blockchain analytics provider Glassnode.
And it wasn't the only currency suffering. The prices of other top coins including Ethereum, Solana, Cardano and Dogecoin have also tanked.
But it looks like things could soon turn around for crypto.
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The world’s largest asset management firm BlackRock has joined forces with major crypto exchange Coinbase in order to provide its clients with access to Bitcoin.
BlackRock is an institution with a whopping $10 trillion ($AUD 14.3 trillion, £8.2 trillion) in assets under management.
Digital asset analyst Marcus Sotiriou told Forbes that the deal signifies a 'major milestone for the crypto space'.
"BlackRock is opening the floodgates for institutions to access Bitcoin," he said.
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Sotiriou reckon's that BlackRock's move will herald in a swathe of new investments in digital currencies.
"I think this could be seen as a green light by other funds to enter the crypto space too," Sotiriou said, adding that data indicates nearly a quarter of fund managers intend to increase exposure their to Bitcoin and other crypto-related assets over the next few years.
Coinbase has also announced earlier this week it would connect to Aladdin, BlackRock’s investment technology platform.
Aladdin handled a massive $21.6 trillion ($AUD 31 trillion, £17.8 trillion) worth of assets in 2020, Forbes reports.
This partnership means there will be increased access to Bitcoin for the global investment industry.
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More cryptocurrencies are believed to be added in the future, according to the Financial Times.
Global head of strategic ecosystem partnerships at BlackRock Joseph Chalom revealed that his clients are keen as mustard to move into the digital currency space.
"Our institutional clients are increasingly interested in gaining exposure to digital asset markets and are focused on how to efficiently manage the operational lifecycle of these assets," he said, as per a statement obtained by Forbes.
BlackRock's move is a stark contrast to the company's previous stance on Bitcoin and other digital currencies.
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Back in 2017, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink labelled Bitcoin an 'index of money laundering'.
"Bitcoin just shows you how much demand for money laundering there is in the world. That’s all it is," Fink said as per CNBC.
Although attitudes have clearly changed.
According to the Financial Times, Fink said client interest was still high when it came to crypto and blockchains.
As a result, BlackRock had been investigating the digital assets space 'in areas that are relevant to our clients, including Stablecoins, crypto assets, tokenisation, and permissioned blockchains'.
Topics: Money, Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, News
Rachel Lang