BlackRock Head of Digital Assets Says Leverage Trading Increases Bitcoin Volatility

Robert Mitchnick, Head of Digital Assets at BlackRock, stated that the high-leverage trading in the bitcoin derivatives market is intensifying volatility and diminishing bitcoin's appeal as a stable hedging tool for institutional portfolios. He pointed out that while bitcoin's fundamentals as a scarce, decentralized monetary asset remain strong, its trading patterns are increasingly resembling a "highly leveraged Nasdaq," making it harder for conservative investors to embrace. He emphasized that BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin ETF is not the main source of volatility, with the issue stemming more from perpetual futures platforms.