Vanguard just ‘caved’ – 50M investors can now trade crypto ETFs

Vanguard Group, the world’s second-largest asset manager, will allow access to crypto ETFs and related mutual funds on its platform from the 2nd of December. 

This would give over 50 million brokerage customers, who see over $11 trillion in capital, access to the fast-growing digital assets market, noted Bloomberg. 

Surprisingly, the approval came only after the market rout erased more than $1 trillion following the October pullback.

Vanguard’s U-turn on crypto ETFs

In 2024, the asset manager took to the sidelines as BlackRock and others entered the sector. At that time, it viewed crypto as mere speculation and too volatile for traditional investments. 

But in September 2025, Vanguard adopted a softer stance and signaled a likely access, citing clients’ demand for crypto ETFs. 

Explaining the firm’s U-turn, Andrew Kadjeski, head of brokerage and investments at Vanguard, said, 

“Cryptocurrency ETFs and mutual funds have been tested through periods of market volatility, performing as designed while maintaining liquidity.”

He added, 

“The administrative processes to service these types of funds have matured; and investor preferences continue to evolve.”

Only Bitcoin, Ethereum [ETH], Ripple [XRP], and Solana [SOL] ETFs will be allowed on the Vanguard platform. 

But the asset manager reiterated that it won’t launch its own crypto products. 

Crypto community reactions

Reacting to the update, Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley, said the move meant the ‘crypto is rapidly entering the mainstream.’

For his part, Nate Geraci, founder of ETF Prime, said Vanguard finally ‘caved’ for digital assets. 

However, some didn’t view the news as short-term bullish for crypto and BTC, which hovered around $86K as of press time. 

That said, spot crypto ETFs experienced record growth in 2025, except in Q4. For the U.S. spot BTC ETFs, for example, total assets under management (AUM) reached a record $170 billion in October.

BlackRock led the way with over $100 billion in AUM, and its BTC ETF became its top revenue line. 

However, the Q4 crypto rout has led to a sharp drop in BlackRock’s AUM to $66 billion and the overall net assets value to $112 billion. 

Nevertheless, the broader crypto ETFs experienced a rebound of $1.07 billion in inflows last week. For CoinShares, the recovery was attributed to hopes of a Fed rate cut. 

Final Thoughts

• Vanguard caved in to clients’ demand for crypto ETF access, adding that the products have ‘matured’ and ‘tested.’
• Top crypto leaders viewed the update as long-term bullish for the sector as mainstream adoption intensifies.