Benzinga - Despite the endorsement of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) by investment heavyweight BlackRock Inc. (NYSE:BLK), skepticism about the cryptocurrency persists among many finance professionals.
What Happened: BlackRock’s acceptance of Bitcoin in 2023 marked a significant shift in the financial industry. However, at a recent Miami event, a number of investment professionals expressed reservations about the digital asset, reported CoinDesk.
Mike Green, a portfolio manager at Simplify Asset Management said, “Bitcoin is just an extractive bubble.” Despite his stance, Simplify has launched two Bitcoin-exposed funds to meet client demand.
Other companies, including Vanguard and State Street, have yet to offer Bitcoin ETFs to their clients. Goldman Sachs, despite its involvement in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ:IBIT), maintains that Bitcoin has no place in investment portfolios.
See Also: Dogecoin’s Road To The Golden Cross, Crypto Analyst Shares His Take On ‘Bull Market Milestone’
At the Miami conference, Kathryn Vera, chief strategist at Stone X Group, stated that Bitcoin will not become a reserve currency in her lifetime. Similarly, economist Peter Schiff dismissed Bitcoin as gambling money with no future use.
Despite the launch of 11 Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S., some asset managers are not yet considering the asset class as an investment. Green noted that his firm is not seeing much interest in Bitcoin from its clients, partly because it does not actively market the cryptocurrency.
Green also pointed out a lack of interest among his peers in understanding the technologies behind Bitcoin and other crypto assets. He suggested this is due to a lack of pressure from clients and the absence of negative impacts from expressing skepticism about the cryptocurrency.
Why It Matters: The skepticism voiced at the Miami event comes despite the recent surge in Bitcoin’s price. On the same day as the event, Bitcoin surpassed the $66,000 mark, emerging as the top gainer in the cryptocurrency market. This surge followed a sharp decline in the market due to Iran’s attack on Israel, which caused significant drops in major cryptocurrencies.
Renowned author Robert Kiyosaki also expressed his disinterest in Bitcoin ETFs, favoring direct ownership of assets over Wall Street's financial products. He stated that he does not own gold or silver ETFs or REITS, real estate ETFS.
Price Action: Bitcoin is currently at $63,546, experiencing a 0.13% increase today and has risen by 43.86% year to date, according to the data from Benzinga Pro.
Read Next: Iran Launches Drone Attack On Israel In Escalation Of Tensions, Bitcoin Drops Sharply In Response
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