Vanguard regrets not launching Bitcoin spot ETF? Anti-crypto CEO announces retirement

Vanguard, the world's second largest asset management company, currently manages more than $9 trillion in assets, second only to BlackRock, which manages $10 trillion in assets. The company was widely criticized by the cryptocurrency community in January for refusing to provide customers with Bitcoin spot ETF trading services and stopping accepting customers to purchase cryptocurrency products. These decisions have led to a trend of boycotts and divestments within the cryptocurrency community.

Today (1), Vanguard Group has undergone major personnel changes. The group’s CEO, Tim Buckley, announced that he will retire at the end of 2024, ending his more than six-year term as CEO. The group is currently looking for Buckley’s successor. . At the same time, current chief investment officer Greg Davis was appointed president with expanded responsibilities.

Is Vanguard’s anti-cryptocurrency stance turning around?

Although other major financial institutions in the United States have accepted the recently approved Bitcoin spot ETF, including major rival BlackRock, they have launched their own BTC spot ETF "IBIT", and in just over a month During the period, funds under management (AUM) have exceeded US$7.1 billion.

However, Vanguard Group stated that cryptocurrencies are "highly speculative", "highly volatile" and "lack of supervision" and are not in line with the company's core philosophy of long-term investment, so it refused to list them on its brokerage platform Cryptocurrency-related products are available on Vanguard, and there are no plans to launch Vanguard’s Bitcoin ETF or other cryptocurrency-related products.

The group’s senior management has also publicly responded that cryptocurrency is more like speculation than investment, which is the root cause of the company’s decision not to provide cryptocurrency-related products: Although cryptocurrency has been classified as a commodity, It is an immature asset class with little history, no intrinsic economic value, no cash flows, and can cause serious harm in a portfolio.

After Buckley announced his upcoming departure on Thursday, discussion on social media quickly increased. Some netizens speculated whether his departure was related to his anti-cryptocurrency stance. The move sparked speculation about Vanguard's new leadership's attitude toward cryptocurrencies, with some suggesting a possible shift in attitude. Some netizens even boldly predicted that the group might launch its own Bitcoin spot ETF. This series of speculations and predictions has triggered interest and discussion about the future development direction of Pioneer. Social media platforms have become the focus of heated discussions, and people have expressed their opinions.

BlackRock IBIT ranks among the top three US ETFs in terms of capital inflows

Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart commented on this, Vanguard’s flagship ETF $VOO, which tracks the S&P 500 index, has attracted $15.7 billion in net new funds so far this year, more than double the inflows of BlackRock’s Bitcoin spot ETF BIT.

"How badly did Vanguard suffer after rejecting a Bitcoin ETF? The answer is: Their ETF $VOO alone has seen more than double the inflows of $IBIT this year - $15.7 billion USD. And this is just normal performance of VOO, not even worth mentioning, they are doing great, my friends."

But he also pointed out that in terms of capital inflows, BlackRock's IBIT can rank third among U.S. ETFs, losing only to the first BlackRock iShares CoreS&P500 ETF (IVV) and the second Vanguard $VOO. As a result, the industry is constantly discussing, and even Vanguard has a lot of internal reviews. Sound.

The community is now waiting to see whether Vanguard’s new CEO will drastically change the leadership’s previous anti-cryptocurrency stance, because if the world’s second largest asset management giant really launches its own Bitcoin spot ETF, it will have a negative impact on Bitcoin. For the currency, the probability is high that it will be a big profit.

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