John Ameriks, Vanguard’s global head of quantitative equities, said Bitcoin still looks more like a speculative collectible than an asset intended to create long-term wealth, comparing it to a “digital Labubu,” the plush toy that has become a popular collectible.
Ameriks’ remarks came Thursday at Bloomberg’s ETFs in Depth conference in New York, where he said Bitcoin lacks the income, compounding and cash flow characteristics that Vanguard looks for when evaluating long-term investments.
His dismissive stance comes as Vanguard just opened its platform to crypto exchange-traded funds, giving its 50 million customers access to the regulated investment vehicles of competitors like BlackRock and Fidelity.
The asset management giant’s reluctant embrace of crypto is a reversal of long-standing skepticism toward the entire asset class. For years, Vanguard has opposed offering cryptocurrency products to its clients, reiterating that it views digital assets as highly speculative and not aligned with its core investment philosophy.
According to Ameriks, this view has apparently not changed. As a result, Vanguard has no plans to launch its own crypto-focused ETFs. The move is notable as Bitcoin ETFs have become BlackRock’s primary source of revenue.
Yet after Vanguard found that crypto ETFs and funds “were tested during periods of market volatility, performing as expected while maintaining liquidity,” the company opened its brokerage platform to these products.
Even with this access, Vanguard will not advise clients on whether to buy or sell crypto assets or which tokens to hold, Ameriks said.
Ameriks said bitcoin could potentially show non-speculative value under certain conditions, such as high inflation or political instability, but he argued the evidence is still limited. “Your history is still too short,” he said.
