Breaking: $10 Trillion Vanguard Plans to Offer Crypto ETFs to Brokerage Clients

Asset manager Vanguard, with $10 trillion in assets under management (AuM), is planning to offer crypto ETFs access to its brokerage clients. This marks a U-turn following its earlier stance on crypto, despite moves from competitors like BlackRock, which have issued their crypto funds.

Vanguard To Offer Crypto ETFs To Its Brokerage Clients

According to a Crypto In America report, the world’s second-largest asset manager, behind BlackRock, plans to offer access to crypto ETFs on its brokerage platform. The firm has, up to now, remained on the sidelines regarding crypto offerings, despite a more regulatory-friendly environment.

However, that could change soon enough as Vanguard has reportedly begun laying the groundwork and holding external discussions as it looks to meet strong client demand for crypto assets and a shifting regulatory environment.

Notably, this development comes as crypto ETFs continue to gain greater adoption, and ahead of the potential launch of more altcoin ETFs by October. Meanwhile, the SEC has already approved the generic listing standards that could see more crypto funds hit the market sooner rather than later.

While Vanguard plans to offer crypto ETFs, the asset manager reportedly still has no plans to launch its own crypto products, unlike BlackRock and other asset managers. Instead, the firm will simply allow brokerage customers to access select third-party crypto ETFs, although it has yet to decide which products exactly it will offer.

Interestingly, BlackRock registered a Bitcoin Income ETF in Delaware, signaling plans to launch another Bitcoin ETF. The world’s largest asset manager has so far chosen to limit its crypto offerings to just Bitcoin and Ethereum, despite moves by other asset managers to file for funds that hold Solana, XRP, Dogecoin, and similar assets.

‘Bending The Knee’

Market experts, including Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas, have highlighted how this marks a significant shift from Vanguard’s earlier stance not to offer crypto products to its clients. The asset manager once declared that Bitcoin isn’t appropriate for long-term investors.

Balchunas opined that the shift is a smart move as Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs are hugely popular. He added that the current CEO, Salim Ramji, was one of those who played a role in the BlackRock Bitcoin ETF launch, so he knows how massive this could be for his firm.

The Bloomberg analyst also noted that this move could be huge for Bitcoin and the crypto market, as Vanguard has 50 million investors. He admitted that many of them might not be the “Bitcoin type” but that it is still massive, as the asset manager is the biggest fund company in the U.S. by two times over.