Most major clients of global asset managers, including BlackRock, do not primarily view Bitcoin as a tool for everyday payments. This was stated by Robert Mitchnick, the head of BlackRock’s crypto division.
According to the top manager, institutional investors mainly perceive the first cryptocurrency as an analogue of gold in digital form — a store of value and a way to preserve capital in the long term. Bitcoin’s payment function remains secondary for them and is seen more as an additional option “outside traditional money.”
At the same time, Mitchnick emphasized that this market view does not mean that Bitcoin cannot eventually gain widespread use as a means of payment. However, he described such a scenario as “fairly speculative” and dependent on a range of technical and infrastructural improvements.
In his assessment, implementing the idea of Bitcoin as a mass transactional system requires substantial progress in scaling the base network, developing the Lightning Network, and related technological solutions.
Against the backdrop of this cautious approach to Bitcoin as a payment instrument, Mitchnick separately highlighted the rapid growth of the stablecoin market. He called them an “extremely successful” product in the field of money transfers and settlements.
According to the head of BlackRock’s crypto division, stablecoins already occupy a significant share of the market as a convenient and efficient way to move funds. Moreover, he sees potential for them to expand far beyond the crypto industry — into retail and corporate payments, cross-border transfers, and capital markets settlement.
Earlier, in September, Mitchnick noted that Bitcoin as “digital gold” is often mistakenly classified as a risky asset, even though its performance sometimes correlates with the stock market.
