Cryptocurrencies are a durable asset class with real upside: BlackRock fixed income CIO
Count Rick Rieder, BlackRock's chief investment officer of global fixed income, as a believer in cryptocurrencies.
"I think it could have some real upside. My sense is there are more buyers than sellers. It's an asset class that I think is durable," Rieder said on Yahoo Finance Live.
Rieder revealed he owns "small pieces" of crypto in several of his bigger portfolios, and compares the positions to owning stakes in venture capital firms.
"Quite frankly, I am glad I do [own crypto]. This has helped me learn about the evolution of what I think will be a blockchain technology that will continue to grow. So it's something I am glad I got involved with," Rieder added.
It's safe to say not everyone in the financial services field is upbeat on crypto.
Paulson & Co. founder John Paulson— who shot to fame during the financial crisis for raking in billions for his hedge fund by betting against subprime mortgages — recently told Bloomberg crypto will "eventually prove to be worthless."
“I wouldn’t recommend anyone invest in cryptocurrencies," said Paulson, who turned his hedge fund into a family office in 2020 amid a steady drumbeat of outflows, in the interview.
The supremely bearish take comes as several well-known cryptos (such as bitcoin) have rallied hard off the lows seen earlier in the year. Meanwhile, an up and coming crypto like cardano has seen a steady surge this year — through Monday, the asset is up more than 1,300%.
"What we think he [John Paulson] is missing is that bitcoin is much more than just a store of value or digital gold. Bitcoin in particular is a new global monetary system. It's a rules-based monetary policy, which is completely de-centralized and therefore is not subject to the whims of policymakers. In fact, it's a hedge against the whims of policymakers, especially in emerging markets," Ark Invest founder Cathie Wood told Yahoo Finance Live.
Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.
Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, YouTube, and reddit
