Vanguard and other tradfi giants boycott spot Bitcoin ETF
[ad_1]
Despite approval from the U.S. SEC, financial institutions such as Vanguard have no plans to allow spot Bitcoin ETF trading.
While major U.S. exchanges such as Nasdaq opened spot Bitcoin ETF trading on January 11, and platforms such as Robinhood plan to quickly add support for these products, some companies have reportedly blocked users from trading.
Vanguard Group, the second-largest asset manager after BlackRock, reportedly said that a spot Bitcoin ETF was inconsistent with the company’s investment philosophy.
In addition to not allowing newly approved products to trade, Vanguard disabled people According to several users on X, Grayscale’s GBTC shares were purchased on its platform.
Vanguard has zero plans to offer the Vanguard Bitcoin ETF or other crypto products, a company spokesperson said. According to the representative’s comments, the Tradfi heavyweight sees cryptocurrency volatility as a risk in its strategy of providing clients with long-term positive returns.
Notably, Vanguard is one of the largest owners of MicroStrategy stock, the Michael Saylor Company, which holds over $8 billion in Bitcoin (BTC).
In addition, there are reports that other traditional institutions such as Merrill Lynch, Citibank, UBS, Wells Fargo Advisors, and Raymond James will also boycott spot BTC ETFs, with Merrill Lynch in particular planning to Evaluate How the ETF is performing and may reevaluate its decision.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg’s James Seyffart confirmed that the spot Bitcoin ETF saw more than $1.2 billion in volume in the first 30 minutes of trading. Bitcoin hit $49,000 shortly after trading began, but the price has since fallen slightly to around $46,300, according to CoinMarketCap.
Despite the SEC’s confirmation of a BTC ETF, long-time Bitcoin skeptic Peter Schiff continues to support anti-crypto rhetoric. Schiff scrutinized coverage of these products from mainstream media outlets and raised questions about the liquidity of spot BTC ETFs.
