BlackRock’s Larry Fink says institutional clients fascinated by crypto but not that interested

BlackRock’s Larry Fink says institutional clients fascinated by crypto but not that interested

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink told CNBC on Thursday that the world's largest money manager has more discussions with its institutional clients on issues around climate change and inflation than it does on cryptocurrencies.

"Our broad-based client relationships, we've had very little interconnectivity on the conversation on crypto other than a fascination," Fink said in an interview on "Squawk Box."

The BlackRock co-founder and chairman believes crypto can "become a great asset class," acknowledging that his firm made some moves into bitcoin.

"We're studying it. We make money on it, but I'm not here to tell you that we're seeing broad-based interest by institutions worldwide," Fink said.

"Maybe they're talking to somebody else, so I don't want to suggest that we have perfect information," he added, shortly after BlackRock reported better-than-expected earnings and a record $9 trillion in assets under management.

The price of bitcoin has soared since last year, trading above $62,000 per coin Thursday morning. As recently as October, the world's largest cryptocurrency by market value traded below $11,000. 

Institutional adoption of bitcoin has been cited as one factor propelling the rise. Companies such as Tesla have used cash on the balance sheet to buy bitcoin, and Wall Street firms Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have separately