Vanguard Group is making a big change. Starting Tuesday, the company will finally allow ETFs and mutual funds that hold Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Solana to trade on its platform. For a firm that has spent years pushing back against crypto, this is a major shift.
For years, Vanguard kept crypto at arm’s length. The company didn’t want to touch crypto ETFs, didn’t want to follow competitors, and made it clear it preferred traditional assets like stocks, bonds, and cash. Last August, CEO Salim Ramji said Vanguard would stay focused on long-term principles and wouldn’t copy what everyone else was doing in the crypto space.
So why the change now?
According to Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas, Vanguard said crypto-backed ETFs have shown they can handle tough market conditions. Even during times of heavy volatility, these ETFs “performed as designed.” That track record helped push Vanguard toward opening the door — at least a little.
But let’s be clear: Vanguard still isn’t offering direct crypto trading. You still can’t buy Bitcoin or Ethereum on Vanguard’s platform. What the company is doing is giving investors access to crypto through regulated ETFs and mutual funds. Internally, Vanguard is calling this move a “compromise.”
And it makes sense. The rest of the financial world has been moving this way for a while. Big firms like BlackRock have launched their own crypto products, and demand from everyday investors keeps rising. Vanguard may be conservative, but it can’t ignore a market this large forever.
Vanguard manages trillions of dollars for millions of clients around the world. Allowing crypto-related ETFs is a small step — but a meaningful one — toward giving those clients the access they’ve been asking for.
The message is simple: Vanguard isn’t going full crypto, but it’s no longer standing on the sidelines either.
