Cathie Wood says BlackRock’s Bitcoin pivot signals broader institutional entry into crypto
ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood said BlackRock CEO Larry Finks shift from a long-time Bitcoin skeptic to an advocate of tokenization is helping clear the way for more institutional investors to enter the digital asset space. Speaking on The Rollup podcast, Wood described Finks evolving stance as “entry permission” for pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and large asset managers that typically wait for signals from major players in traditional finance before moving into new asset classes. Fink leads BlackRock, the world‘s largest asset manager with more than $14 trillion in assets under management. In a post on X on May 4, BlackRock said “crypto investing is entering a new phase,” pointing to a discussion at its LAIF26 conference that explored Bitcoin’s role in portfolios. From early conviction to institutional adoption, #crypto investing is entering a new phase. Host of The Bid #podcast, Oscar Pulido, sits down with Robbie Mitchnick of BlackRock and Dan Morehead of Pantera Capital at #LAIF26 to discuss bitcoins unique role, market cycles, and… pic.twitter.com/zZPasl0tMp — BlackRock (@BlackRock) May 4, 2026 Aladdin is the lever Wood is pointing at The mechanism Wood identified is not sentiment. It is BlackRocks Aladdin platform, which serves virtually every major institutional asset manager globally. BlackRock has Aladdin. If