Report states that Vanguard’s new CEO rules out possibility of Bitcoin ETF.

The CEO of Vanguard, a major investment firm in the United States, recently stated that the company will not be launching a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). Salim Ramji, who will take over as Vanguard’s CEO in July, explained that the decision is in line with the company’s investment philosophy and commitment to consistency. Ramji, who previously led BlackRock’s global ETF business, oversaw the launch of the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), a spot Bitcoin ETF that has accumulated $18 billion in assets. Despite his interest in cryptocurrency, Ramji does not plan to introduce a Vanguard spot Bitcoin ETF. However, he may reconsider the firm’s policy of not allowing clients to purchase other spot Bitcoin ETFs on its brokerage platform. Vanguard, with its $8.6 trillion in assets under management, views crypto as a speculative and immature asset class. The firm’s outgoing CEO, Tim Buckley, also expressed skepticism about Bitcoin ETFs, stating that they are not suitable for long-term retirement portfolios. Vanguard faced backlash from customers after blocking access to spot Bitcoin ETFs, and some threatened to close their accounts. Although Vanguard did not launch its own Bitcoin ETF, it indirectly holds exposure to Bitcoin through its stake in MicroStrategy. On May 16, Bitcoin saw a 7% increase, leading to positive net inflows for spot Bitcoin ETFs. Preliminary data shows that net inflows for May 15 totaled over $300 million across all U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, excluding BlackRock’s IBIT.