According to John Ameriks, the global head of quantitative equity at Vanguard, Bitcoin is predominantly a speculative asset, comparable to a collectible toy.
“I find it challenging to regard Bitcoin as anything beyond a digital Labubu,” Ameriks stated during Bloomberg’s ETFs in Depth conference in New York City.
Labulus are plush collectible toys that depict animals with human-like traits. Despite his critiques, Ameriks mentioned that Bitcoin (BTC) could, under certain conditions, hold value beyond mere financial speculation in the future.
He pointed out that the cryptocurrency might discover practical applications outside of market speculation, especially in times of significant fiat currency inflation or political turmoil, as these factors can promote the use of alternative currencies.
CoinMarketCap
These remarks followed Vanguard’s December announcement that it would allow clients to trade cryptocurrency funds for the first time, highlighting ongoing skepticism from analysts and traditional finance executives about Bitcoin, even as its value stays above $90,000, showcasing 16 years of operational uptime.
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Vanguard finally embraces cryptocurrency
Vanguard has now become the last of the three major asset management firms, alongside BlackRock and State Street, to permit clients to include crypto investment vehicles in their portfolios.
“We enable clients to hold and purchase these ETFs on our platform at their discretion,” Ameriks explained, adding that Vanguard will not provide guidance on whether to buy or sell or which crypto tokens to hold.
Farside Investors
This policy shift allows Vanguard’s over 50 million clients to gain exposure to the crypto markets, further bridging traditional finance with digital assets and channeling investments into crypto networks. The influx of capital from Vanguard clients is likely to enhance prices for cryptocurrencies associated with exchange-traded funds.
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