BlackRock CEO says FTX misbehaviors, technology relevant

BlackRock Inc. Chief Executive Larry Fink said on Wednesday that there appear to have been misbehaviors by the now-bankrupt FTX criptocurrency exchange, but that the technology behind it is relevant for the future.

We're going to have to wait to see how this all plays out, FTX Fink said. We can make all the judgment calls right now, but it looks like there were misbehaviors of major consequences. After its collapse in the US on November 11, FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States, saying it could owe money to more than 1 million creditors.

BlackRock invested $24 million in FTX through a billionaire fund it manages. Other global asset managers such as Temasek Holdings, the venture capital fund Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital have also invested in Sam Bankman- Fried's FTX.

Despite all the problems around FTX, Fink believes that the technology behind it will be very important. He said that the next generation of markets and the next generation of securities will be the tokenization of securities. On Wednesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she remains skeptical about cryptocurrencies and called for regulation.

Fink gave a grim picture of the economy, citing a higher-than-normal inflation rate, elevated interest rates and lower growth, and limited room for fiscal stimulus.

We're going to enter a period of more malaise, he said. We're not going to have an economy that's based on real growth that we're used to. He believes that the environment for investments is more favorable, especially in investments that rise with interest rates.