One of the world’s leading investment firms, Vanguard, has made a buzz across the crypto community following BlackRock’s appointment of Salim Ramji, the former leader of Bitcoin ETF, as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
In a recent X post, Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst, Eric Balchunas, revealed that Vanguard had welcomed Salim Ramji, the brain behind the launch of BlackRock’s IBIT in January, onto its board.
JUST IN: Salim Ramji will be the new Vanguard CEO. He used to head up BlackRock’s global ETF business. First time ever Vanguard hired outsider as CEO. Every other one was internal star and former Bogle assistant. INTERESTING. SEMI-SHOCK.
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) May 14, 2024
The collaboration surprises many as Vanguard is known for its consistent opposition against Bitcoin. Despite shunning Bitcoin ETFs multiple times, Vanguard’s Board of Directors has named the overseer of BlackRock’s ETF business as the company’s fifth CEO.
Effective July 8, Salim Ramji will take over from Tim Buckley, Vanguard’s current chairman and CEO, as he awaits his retirement. This shift in leadership has raised debates about whether Vanguard will continue to oppose Bitcoin.
Vanguard’s Bitcoin rejection is assumed to have been fuelled by Buckley’s stance on the ecosystem. Buckley had recently expressed the belief that spot Bitcoin ETFs are unsuitable for long-term and retirement investment plans due to their price valuation.
According to him, Vanguard will only consider Bitcoin as a trusted investment option if it “changes as an asset class,” noting that BTC’s value is questionable due to its massive drop from an all-time high of $69,000 in 2021 to under $16,000 during the 2022 stock market crash.
Even with Ramji’s strong fate in cryptocurrencies and the ETF ecosystem, whether Vanguard’s crypto stance will still be influenced is still being determined. Eric expressed his curiosity on the matter, saying,
“….Salim Ramji oversaw the filing and logistics for $IBIT and he has been quoted about his interest in digital assets altho I’m not sure that’s going to change Vanguard’s stance but hell he will be the CEO. Who knows.. Door much more open now IMO.”
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