Back in 2017, legendary investor Jack Bogle infamously cautioned investors to “avoid Bitcoin like the plague”. Roughly seven years later, Vanguard has still ignited the ire of crypto enthusiasts by sticking to the conservative investment principles of its late founder.
Despite the euphoria unleashed by chief rival BlackRock being among the issuers of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on American stock exchanges, Vanguard still won’t touch the new BTC products with a ten-foot pole.
Why Vanguard Is Not Interested In BTC ETFs
Bloomberg’s top ETF analyst Eric Balchunas has revealed why Vanguard, which currently holds approximately $7.2 trillion in assets under management, continues to shun Bitcoin spot investment vehicles, unlike its peers.
According to Balchunas, the Pennsylvania-based company has traditionally steered clear of commodities, which Bogle dismissed as “total speculation” since they are “only worth what someone else will pay you.” Bogle favored assets with intrinsic cash flow over mere commodities like Bitcoin.
Even as billions flowed into the newly-launched spot Bitcoin ETFs, Vanguard has maintained that it has no plans to offer its clients any crypto-related products. The Bloomberg ETF pundit described Vanguard’s paternalistic decision to block Bitcoin ETFs on its enormous trading platform as “a bit nanny state-ish.”
He contends that their “highly intelligent” investors should be able to decide for themselves whether or not they want to gain direct exposure to the burgeoning crypto.
Vanguard’s New CEO Sticks To Avowed Anti-Bitcoin ETF Stance
Vanguard’s rejection of Bitcoin and crypto in general stands in contrast to its industry peers. BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, and Invesco have all debuted spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs this year, while major US banks like JPMorgan are serving as authorized participants for the products.
Meanwhile, earlier this year, Vanguard named Salim Ramji, a former BlackRock executive who oversaw the company’s launch of its Bitcoin ETF (iShares Bitcoin Trust), as its new CEO. This move triggered chatter on social media that the asset manager might change its stance. However, despite his BTC-friendliness at BlackRock, Ramji quickly poured water on the idea that he has intentions for Vanguard to offer its clientele trading access to any of the multiple spot Bitcoin products on the market.
That being said, despite the asset management behemoth eschewing Bitcoin ETFs, it still has indirect exposure in the dominant cryptocurrency by market cap as it is presently the second-biggest institutional holder of MicroStrategy — the world’s largest corporate holder of Bitcoin.
