Bitcoin ETF Debate: Jim Bianco Backs Vanguard As He Advocates Caution

The cryptocurrency market has witnessed a major turning point following the approval of Bitcoin Spot Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on January 11. However, despite its intriguing growth over time, several popular figures in the crypto landscape are still against the exchange products.

Jim Biance Defends Vanguard’s Position Toward Bitcoin Spot ETFs

President and founder of Bianco Research, Jim Bianco, has taken to the X platform to reveal his insights regarding Vanguard’s stance against Bitcoin exchange-traded products while highlighting the company’s huge success without adopting the ETFs.

Bianco has highlighted several significant perspectives the community should consider regarding the subject. He believes that “Vanguard is the 850-pound gorilla” in the ETF market, while asset management firm “BlackRock is the 800-pound gorilla.”

According to Jim, Blackrock‘s ETF assets were valued at $2.84 trillion as of March 15. Meanwhile, about $18.19 billion was invested in all of their ETFs in the past week, with $2.6 billion going into IBIT.

He further drew a comparison to Vanguard’s assets, which were valued at $2.58 trillion, amassing approximately $29.44 billion inflow into all their ETFs last week, with zero invested in Bitcoin ETFs. This information demonstrates Vanguard’s strong results in the larger ETF industry, which has made it one of the best-performing firms in the market over time.

Bianco’s insights came in light of the criticism from the crypto community after Vanguard’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tim Buckley disclosed the company’s decision to not invest BTC ETFs.

In a video released by Vanguard, Tim Buckley stated that the firm “does not have plans to offer Bitcoin spot ETFs.” This is because it is not considered a “store of value” and does not belong in a “long-term portfolio.”

In spite of the critiques from the community, the CEO restated the firm’s viewpoint, which remained unaltered. He further declared that unless there was a “major shift in Bitcoin’s asset class,” Vanguard would continue to uphold its decision not to provide the products.

A 30 Million Fundholders Decision

Bianco also pointed out that the company’s decision was a result of 30 million fundholders “who are not interested in Bitcoin,” and Tim Buckley was just an “effective spokesman” for these fundholders.

He stated:

Vanguard is not publicly owned. It is mutual, which means the fundholders own the company and Buckly is effectively the spokesman for these 30 million fundholders, who tell him they are not interested in BTC.

These fundholders believe that Vanguard’s main focus should be on improving its customer service, not BTC because the firm has grown so “quickly and so successful.”

So far, Bianco has refuted claims within the crypto community about Buckley leaving Vanguard, stating that the CEO is retiring rather than being let go. “He is staying for another nine and half months as he is retiring at the end of the year,” he added.

Featured image from iStock, chart from Tradingview.com