According to John Ameriks, the global head of quantitative equity at Vanguard, Bitcoin is no more than a speculative asset, comparable to a collectible toy.
“I find it hard to view Bitcoin as anything beyond a digital Labubu,” Ameriks stated at Bloomberg’s ETFs in Depth conference in New York City.
Labulus are plush collectible toys that feature anthropomorphic animals. Despite his criticism, Ameriks noted that Bitcoin (BTC) could potentially hold value beyond mere financial speculation in specific future scenarios.
He pointed out that in cases of significant fiat currency inflation or political instability, the cryptocurrency could have practical applications, driving the adoption of alternative currencies.
These remarks came after Vanguard announced in December that it will permit clients to trade cryptocurrency funds for the first time, underscoring doubts from analysts and executives in traditional finance regarding Bitcoin, even while its price remains above $90,000 with 16 years of network uptime.
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Vanguard has become the last of the three major asset management firms—alongside BlackRock and State Street—to enable clients to engage with crypto investment options.
“We allow clients to purchase and hold these ETFs on our platform if they choose, but it is ultimately up to their discretion,” Ameriks explained, adding that Vanguard will not provide “advice on whether to buy or sell or which crypto tokens to hold.”
This policy change provides Vanguard’s more than 50 million clients access to crypto markets, creating another link between traditional finance and digital assets, which could direct funds into crypto networks. The influx of new capital from Vanguard’s clients might drive up the prices of cryptocurrencies associated with exchange-traded funds.
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