The recent partnership between Coinbase and BlackRock comes at a highly criticized time for the entire cryptocurrency market. Following the massive drop in cryptocurrency prices, Coinbase has also experienced a dip in valuation as its stock price plummeted to extreme lows. 

However, BlackRock is the largest asset management firm in the world with nearly $10 trillion dollars worth of assets under management. While opinions around cryptocurrency have become more public, it is clear that the mass adoption of cryptocurrency is already here. 

Introducing Bitcoin to Aladdin

Aladdin, a financial asset platform developed by BlackRock, is one of the most widely used software programs across the world and equips institutional investment firms with unique insights and control over their finances. 

With Coinbase’s partnership, BlackRock will soon add Bitcoin as a financial asset that can be bought, sold, and held by any company that uses Aladdin. This new inclusion of Bitcoin will also provide Aladdin users full custody of their crypto, abiding by the Not your keys, Not your crypto mentality.  

What’s the deal?

With their immense financial reach, the actions taken by BlackRock affect everyone. Similar to Berkshire Hathaway, BlackRock is heavily invested in a plethora of businesses, corporations, and conglomerates that operate on a global economic scale. 

By injecting cryptocurrency into the bloodstream of $10 trillion under management, cryptocurrency will inevitably take a more common presence in our everyday lives. While some of the world's largest corporations have already begun showing interest in cryptocurrency, the breadth of exposure that bitcoin will soon gain is immeasurable. 

Because of their financial influence, BlackRock is widely criticized for their investments. This is no secret either, Larry Finch, the CEO of BlackRock, has addressed his company’s effect on the fight against climate change.

Struggles at Coinbase

Coinbase, like most other companies in the crypto industry lately, has received consistent backlash for many premature layoffs marred by a plummeting stock price. Their fall from grace has become the poster child for this latest crypto crash, which has caused many outside of the web3 space to continue believing that crypto is nothing more than a hoax. 

Following this new partnership, Brian Armstrong has shown that his commitment to establishing a concrete web3 business never wavered. Amidst struggling public perception, he and his team have continued working through the crypto winter to help elevate the space for everybody involved with the blockchain. 

Although it’s easy to kick someone when they are down, Armstrong is proving that Coinbase was never truly defeated following his new partnership. While everyone was busy laughing at crypto’s falling price tags, he was silently working towards a greater level of integration with the blockchain. 

Adoption is already here

This is it - adoption has arrived. There are no more ifs or whens, with BlackRock’s decision to incorporate the bitcoin blockchain on their Aladdin platform, businesses around the world are going to start acquiring the crypto asset with BlackRock’s seal of approval.

This will create an effect as more wallets are opened under the names of many established corporations. Inevitably, these wallets will encourage businesses to create new methods of business as they explore their new options in cryptocurrency. It’s only a matter of time before other networks such as Ethereum and Solana are hosted on Aladdin as well.