Vanguard CEO Team Rejects ETF Bitcoin, Here's Why!

Vanguard, the world's leading asset manager. (Photo; Doc. WSJ)

JAKARTA - Vanguard, the global asset management giant, confirmed its stance not to get involved in the Bitcoin Exchange-Trad Fund (ETF) offering. This decision sparked heated debate among investors and market observers.

The Buckley team, CEO of Vanguard, firmly expressed his non-interest in the Bitcoin ETF spot, caused mixed reactions. Meanwhile, some criticized Jim Bianco, financial adviser, firmly defending the decision. According to him, Vanguard does not need to follow the trend just because of the increasing popularity of Bitcoin.

The approval of the spot Bitcoin ETF by the United States SEC in January opened the door for companies like BlackRock and Fidelity Investments to introduce this innovative product. However, Vanguard chose a different path, sparking comments from Cathie Wood of Ark Invest calling Vanguard's decision "terrible" because it has the potential to isolate its users from a decentralized monetary system.

Reporting from Coingape, Bianco emphasized that Vanguard, with ETF assets of around US$2.558 trillion (around Rp40,178.2 trillion), did not suffer any losses due to their refusal to spot Bitcoin ETF. In fact, Vanguard recorded an inflow of US$29.44 billion (around Rp458.9 trillion) to all of its ETFs, without including Bitcoin ETF.

Bianco also denied rumors that Leonardo would be fired for his attitude towards Bitcoin ETF.▁gagasan, who still has nine months as CEO of Vanguard, is expected to retire with a legacy as one of the most successful asset managers, with total assets of more than 9 trillion US dollars (around Rp140,310 trillion).

Vanguard's insistence on plunging into the Bitcoin ETF market may be a wise long-term strategy, given the volatility and uncertainty that still surrounds crypto assets. However, the exponential growth of the crypto market cannot be ignored, and Vanguard's decision could be a topic of discussion that will continue in the future.