The perception of Bitcoin (BTC) as a safe haven asset provides a price floor for the top cryptocurrency, according to Jenny Johnson, the president and chief executive of global investment giant Franklin Templeton.
Johnson says in a new interview with CNBC that the demand for BTC is evident after the launch of new spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Franklin Templeton’s BTC ETF was one of 11 applications approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last week.
The CEO also notes that they view Bitcoin as just “one of a suite” of opportunities in the blockchain space, citing the company’s decision to launch the first US-registered mutual fund to use a public blockchain to process transactions and record share ownership.
Johnson says the ETFs will open up access to BTC, but she also notes that people using the top crypto asset as protection to keep “a floor on the price.”
“One of the things that made me a believer is I went around the world talking to people…. I had somebody who said ‘I keep 50% of my savings in Bitcoin because if I say the wrong thing in my country, I could have my assets confiscated.’
I remember talking to somebody in Israel who said, ‘My parents and their parents had all their assets confiscated.’ They keep a portion of [their savings] in Bitcoin, so there’s a fear component to it that is considered almost an insurance or safety component. But I also think it’s really important to fueling what is the next real opportunity in this blockchain world.”
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