Bitcoin Is a “Digital Labubu,” Says Vanguard — Yet It Opens ETF Trading

Vanguard Group now allows clients to trade spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, but the $12 trillion asset manager’s skepticism toward crypto remains firmly intact.

According to Bloomberg, John Ameriks, Vanguard’s global head of quantitative equity, compared Bitcoin to a viral plush toy collectible rather than a productive asset at Bloomberg’s ETFs in Depth conference on Thursday, saying it lacks the income, compounding, and cash flow that the firm seeks in long-term investments.

“It’s difficult for me to think about Bitcoin as anything more than a digital Labubu,” Ameriks said, referencing the popular stuffed toy craze.

The comment comes as Bitcoin trades around $90,000, down from $126,000 in October.

At the same time, Vanguard maintains its longstanding position against launching its own crypto-focused ETFs even as it opened platform access to third-party products earlier this month.

Platform Opens Despite Deep Investment Doubts

Vanguard’s decision to allow ETF trading followed months of tracking the performance of crypto products, since spot Bitcoin funds launched in January 2024.

The firm wanted to ensure these products “delivered what’s on the tin, the way that they’re described,” Ameriks explained in a separate conference interview.

However, he stressed that Vanguard won’t advise clients on whether to buy or sell digital-asset ETFs.

“We allow people to hold and buy these ETFs on our platform if they wish to do so, but they do so with discretion,” he said.

“We’re going to not give them advice as to whether buy or sell or which crypto tokens they ought to hold. That’s just not something we’re going to do at this point.“

The reversal reflects growing pressure on the world’s second-largest asset manager after rivals BlackRock and Fidelity captured billions in crypto ETF flows.

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust became the fastest ETF ever to reach $70 billion in assets, generating hundreds of millions in annual fees while Vanguard clients complained about restricted access and some threatened to close accounts in response to the firm’s initial blockade.

Leadership Change Drives Strategic Shift

The firm’s leadership transition played a key role in the platform’s opening. Salim Ranji, who took over as CEO this year after running BlackRock’s giant ETF business and overseeing the launch of IBIT, has spoken publicly about blockchain’s potential despite Vanguard maintaining that it has “no plans to launch its own crypto products.“

Andrew Kadjeski, head of brokerage and investments at Vanguard, told Bloomberg that “cryptocurrency ETFs and mutual funds have been tested through periods of market volatility, performing as designed while maintaining liquidity.”

He added that “the administrative processes to service these types of funds have matured; and investor preferences continue to evolve.“

Ramji’s predecessor, Tim Buckley, had said a Bitcoin ETF did not belong in a typical retirement account, reinforcing the firm’s reputation as crypto-skeptical.

The platform now serves more than 50 million clients worldwide who previously couldn’t buy spot Bitcoin ETFs through their existing Vanguard accounts, potentially pulling mainstream money toward digital assets.

Speculative Asset View Persists Despite Market Evolution

Vanguard executives have consistently labeled cryptocurrencies speculative investments throughout Bitcoin’s volatile boom-and-bust cycles.

The firm now considers digital assets extremely or very risky, with 66% of US investors aware of crypto sharing this view, according to recent FINRA Foundation data, up from 58% in 2021.

Ameriks conceded that Bitcoin might offer non-speculative value in certain scenarios, including high-inflation environments or periods of political instability.

“If you can see reliable movement in the price in those circumstances, we can talk more sensibly about what the investment thesis might be and what role it could play in a portfolio,” he said. “But you just don’t have that yet—you’ve still got too short of a history.“

A Vanguard spokesperson added that the firm remains optimistic about blockchain’s utility and its ability to improve market structure.

Despite platform restrictions, Vanguard holds indirect Bitcoin exposure as the second-largest institutional shareholder in Strategy, while managing approximately $11 trillion and treating crypto funds similarly to other “non-core” assets, such as gold, on its US brokerage platform.