Impact of crypto still years out, T. Rowe Price’s head says

Although the crypto space has been around for more than a decade, William Stromberg, CEO of mainstream investment management outfit T. Rowe Price, thinks the asset class is still finding its sea legs. 

"It's early days,” Stromberg told the Baltimore Business Journal in an interview when asked if “T. Rowe Price will ever start investing in cryptocurrencies.”

“We have some research going on around it,” the CEO added. “Some companies, just really a handful, have tried to put together products where one can buy and own crypto-related currencies.”

So far, a crypto-free strategy is working for Stromberg. Quarter one of this year was a great one for T. Rowe Price. The firm notched $1.52 trillion in assets under management, and saw its profits rise by over 100%, the Baltimore Business Journal article detailed. 

A number of avenues exist for investing directly in cryptocurrencies. A growing number of avenues also exist for exposure to crypto assets via traditional financial products as well, although the opportunities are not as diverse, as opposed to interacting directly with specific cryptocurrencies.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange, or CME, offers Bitcoin (BTC) futures and options trading, as well as Ethereum (ETH) futures, for example. Among other crypto investment gateways, Grayscale also offers a variety of mainstream crypto investment vehicles.

“It really truly is early, early days here so I would expect this to move at a good pace but take years to really unfold," Stromberg added in his response to the Baltimore Business Journal’s question on crypto.

Stromberg’s crypto comments came after the CEO discussed the overall financial landscape of American markets, for which he sees a positive future. "We are very bullish on the economy and the growth of the economy as it reopens and that reopening broadens," he told the Baltimore Business Journal.

Although in general crypto is not technically tied to any specific region or government, its price action can arguably be influenced by certain events, based on the price crash Bitcoin suffered during March 2020 around COVID-19 concerns, however some debate exists on the subject.