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The crypto market keeps on growing amid black rock the asset management giant looks into cryptocurrencies and blockchain.
The world’s most valuable virtual currency by market value was trading higher by more than 5 percent compared to where prices were on Monday, at around $6,720.84 as of 10:32 a.m. HK/SIN, according to industry website CoinDesk, which tracks prices from several exchanges.
The prices of ethereum and ripple, the second- and third-largest digital assets by market capitalization respectively, also tracked slightly higher. Ethereum was up by more than 6 percent, while ripple was around 6 percent higher compared to levels seen one day ago, as of 10:35 a.m. HK/SIN.
London’s Financial News first reported the story. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink later confirmed the report in an interview with Reuters. “We are a big student of blockchain,” Fink said. He added, however, he does not see "huge demand for cryptocurrencies."
In an earlier interview with Bloomberg, Fink said: "I don’t believe any client has sought out crypto exposure."
Fink has previously railed against bitcoin, calling it an “index of money laundering.”
The working group is not a new development and has, in fact, existed since 2015, a source familiar with the matter told CNBC.
The news follows a report by Fortune magazine that hedge-fund billionaire Steve Cohen’s venture arm Cohen Private Ventures invested in Autonomous Partners, a cryptocurrency-focused investment fund.
Many industry experts believe that increased involvement from institutional investors in the cryptocurrency space will boost confidence in an otherwise dubious market.