Bitcoin continues to have ‘positive skewness to its volatility’: BlackRock’s Cohen

BlackRock’s Samara Cohen said that this is an “important moment to play out” for bitcoin on the Empire podcast

article-image

BlackRock CIO of ETF and index investments Samara Cohen | Permissionless III by Mike Lawrence for Blockworks

share

This is a segment from the Empire newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.


This morning’s Empire podcast was all things BlackRock. 

Empire co-host Jason Yanowitz chatted with BlackRock’s Samara Cohen. There’s a lot of insight to be gleaned from Cohen, who’s a powerhouse in her own right, and she certainly delivered. 

It’s no secret at this point that bitcoin’s not really acting the way some folks think it should — that is, being a safe haven like gold during market downturns. 

“This is an important moment to play out in terms of how Bitcoin’s price performance does show up. I mean, this environment of market volatility is really induced by cross-border tension, and supply chain complexity like this should be Bitcoin’s environment,” Cohen noted. 

Cohen added that, if anything, bitcoin’s just increased its correlation with equities. 

And yet, BlackRock’s bitcoin ETP IBIT hasn’t seen the level of outflows one might expect. For Cohen, this shows that the price action was focused on retail and speculative positions held by institutions, since IBIT can’t be levered in the same way bitcoin can be.

She added: “ Bitcoin hasn’t had the volatility in the downtrade. It continues to have this kind of positive skewness to its volatility.”

But it’s not just bitcoin that Cohen or BlackRock are focused on. They’re also quite bullish on tokenization and how it can improve capital markets. 

“We  are very much focused on the path to more tokenization in markets. We are very focused on the utility of bridges to investors,” she told Yanowitz. 

My takeaway? BlackRock can’t stop, won’t stop its crypto journey. This is just the beginning.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Research Report Templates.png

Research

Maple Finance has successfully navigated significant market challenges through its strategic pivot to secured lending (Maple v2) and the launch of its Syrup product. Syrup has become a primary growth driver, delivering sustainable, outperforming stablecoin yields and rapidly increasing TVL. The upcoming custody-first Bitcoin staking product (istBTC) presents another significant avenue for expansion. Crucially, Maple has achieved operational profitability, a key inflection point that, combined with a fully vested token and active buyback mechanism, strengthens its investment case. While valuation metrics suggest potential undervaluation relative to peers and growth, the primary forward-looking risk identified is the long-term sustainability of its current high-take-rate collateral staking revenue model.

article-image

In 2014, Microsoft virus scanners were detecting viruses in Bitcoin software

article-image

Ledn’s Mauricio Di Bartolomeo explained how this cycle’s been different for the lender

article-image

The shorts looking for funding range from charming animated series to gritty live-action dramas

article-image

Money, it turns out, is emergent, like consciousness

article-image

Bridge flows churn in both directions as risk appetite returns