New York City, February 22, 2024 — BlackRock, Inc., the world’s largest asset manager with over $9.42 trillion in assets as of June 30, 2023, is set to hold its inaugural ”Institutional Digital Assets Summit” tomorrow. The event promises to be a significant milestone in the financial industry’s embrace of digital assets and blockchain technology.
As the financial landscape continues to evolve, asset managers are increasingly looking to digital assets as a means of driving efficiencies, improving access, and enhancing capital markets.
BlackRock, with over $9 trillion in assets under management (AUM), recognizes the potential of digital assets and is actively exploring their applications within the industry.
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While some countries have made significant strides in adopting digital payment systems, the United States appears to be lagging behind. In his annual letter to investors, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink emphasized that BlackRock is actively exploring opportunities related to tokenization of assets, decentralized finance (DeFi), and cryptocurrencies.
The Institutional Digital Assets Summit is a testament to BlackRock’s commitment to staying at the forefront of financial innovation.
Fink highlighted the success of faster and more efficient payment systems in India, Brazil, and parts of Africa. For instance: India’s United Payments Interface (UPI) has become one of the most widely used forms of payment in the country. Brazil’s Pix system has revolutionized local payments.
By contrast, many developed markets, including the US, have yet to fully embrace innovation in payments, resulting in higher costs for consumers.
Tokenization is a promising use case, one area where BlackRock sees significant promise is asset tokenization. Tokenization involves representing real-world assets (such as stocks, bonds, or real estate) as digital tokens on a blockchain.
Here’s why it matters.
Efficiencies in Capital Markets: Tokenization can streamline processes related to issuance, trading, and settlement of securities. By digitizing assets, BlackRock aims to reduce friction and enhance liquidity.
Shortening Value Chains: Tokenization allows for direct ownership and transfer of assets without intermediaries. This can simplify complex value chains and improve transparency.
The BlackRock Digital Summit is an exclusive event that brings together top business leaders, economists, and policy experts to discuss the themes shaping the investment landscape and their impact on institutional portfolios. As we look ahead to 2024, this year’s summit promises to be particularly insightful.
BlackRock’s Institutional events offer curated access to experts from across the financial industry, politics, and business. These thought leaders join BlackRock investors to explore timely views on market events, macro swings, and pivotal moments in the global economy. Whether it’s geopolitical conflicts, earnings surprises, or bank closures, we curate events that provide actionable insights for institutional portfolios.
The summit will delve into key themes that are currently shaping investment decisions:
Market Volatility and Macro Swings: As we navigate a new regime characterized by higher interest rates, macro volatility, and tougher financial conditions, our experts will provide insights into how to seize opportunities in this environment.
Fixed Income Strategies: With elevated rates and less confident growth outlooks, institutions are reevaluating their fixed income portfolios. We’ll explore portfolio positioning themes and macro-outlooks across markets.
Infrastructure Investments: The generational opportunity for infrastructure investments will be discussed, along with how these allocations may benefit portfolios and help solve today’s market challenges.
Portfolio Construction in the New Regime: Our experts will share how they are building flexibility and nimbleness into portfolio construction to take advantage of higher dispersion, tactical plays, and market mispricing.