Billionaire David Rubenstein, on Tuesday, said Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is here to stay, as evidenced by BlackRock’s application for a spot BTC Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF). 

What Happened: During an interview on Bloomberg TV, Rubenstein emphasized the appeal of Bitcoin’s privacy and its ability to facilitate transactions free from government monitoring. He openly regretted not acquiring Bitcoin when it was valued at $100.

“A lot of people around the world want to be able to trade in a currency that their government can’t know what they have and they want to be able to move it around rightly or wrongly and so I don’t think Bitcoin is going away,” he said.

Rubenstein also pointed to the growing global demand for a decentralized currency beyond government control. 

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Why It Matters:  He acknowledged that previous skeptics of cryptocurrencies may now reconsider their dismissive stance due to increased involvement from mainstream financial players such as BlackRock.

“If the mighty BlackRock is willing to have an ETF in Bitcoin, maybe Bitcoin is going to be around for a while,” Rubenstein added. 

Price Action: At the time of writing, BTC was trading at $29,745, up 1.85% in the last 24 hours, according to Benzinga Pro.

Read Next:  Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin Rise Amid Spot BTC ETF Optimism: Analyst Says King Crypto To Shoot Up 100% Each Year

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