Vanguard Group, the second-largest asset management company in the world, announced today that its CEO, Tim Buckley, will retire at the end of the year. The company is currently searching for a successor, and there is speculation within the community that his stance against cryptocurrencies may be a reason for his departure. It is also speculated that the new leadership may have a different attitude towards cryptocurrencies.
Vanguard made headlines in January when it refused to offer Bitcoin spot ETF trading services to its clients and announced that it would no longer accept purchases of cryptocurrency products. This decision was met with widespread criticism from the cryptocurrency community, leading to a wave of boycotts and withdrawals.
With over $9 trillion in assets under management, Vanguard is second only to BlackRock, which manages $10 trillion. While other major financial institutions in the United States have embraced recently approved Bitcoin spot ETFs, including its biggest competitor, BlackRock, which has launched its own BTC spot ETF called “IBIT,” with over $7.1 billion in assets under management in just over a month.
However, Vanguard has stated that cryptocurrencies are highly speculative, volatile, and lack regulation, which does not align with the company’s core investment philosophy. As a result, it refuses to provide cryptocurrency-related products on its brokerage platform and has no plans to launch a Vanguard Bitcoin ETF or other cryptocurrency-related products.
Speculation has arisen on social media following Buckley’s announcement of his impending retirement, with some questioning whether it is related to his stance against cryptocurrencies and whether the new leadership at Vanguard will have a different attitude towards cryptocurrencies. Some bold predictions suggest that the company’s next step may be to launch its own Bitcoin spot ETF.
According to ETF analyst James Seyffart, Vanguard’s flagship ETF, which tracks the S&P 500 index, has attracted $15.7 billion in net new funds this year, more than double the inflows of BlackRock’s Bitcoin spot ETF, IBIT. However, in terms of inflows, IBIT ranks third among US ETFs, trailing only BlackRock’s iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) and Vanguard’s VOO. This has sparked discussions in the industry, including internal debates within Vanguard.
The community is now eagerly watching to see if Vanguard’s new CEO will change the company’s previous stance against cryptocurrencies. If the world’s second-largest asset management giant does indeed launch its own Bitcoin spot ETF, it is highly likely to have a significant positive impact on Bitcoin.
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Bitcoin Spot ETF Trading Volume Surpasses $7.7 Billion, CoinShares: Institutional Demand Exceeds Supply by Threefold