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Bitcoin Holds $42K As Vanguard CEO Denies Access to BTC
- Vanguard completely dashes any hopes of a spot Bitcoin ETF.
- Doubling down on their stance, Vanguard removed all access to any crypto-related funds they offer, including futures ETFs.
- Adding fuel to the fire, Vanguard’s CEO claimed that Bitcoin lacks intrinsic value and that investors should not add it to their portfolios.
- BTC has held USD $42K over the weekend, as investors consolidate before the halving event in three months.
It was a historic day for Bitcoin last week, when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finally approved a spot BTC ETF in the United States. But the celebrations didn’t last long as financial institutions around the world started to weigh in on whether they planned to offer a fund of their own. While a race to the bottom (for fees) rages on between big players like BlackRock and Fidelity, others have met the news with skepticism.
Vanguard CEO Claims Bitcoin Has “No Intrinsic Value”
Vanguard is the second-biggest asset manager in the world – ahead of JP Morgan Chase, which also has a staunchly anti-crypto CEO. On a CNBC debate, Vanguard’s CEO Mortimer Buckley advised his clients to avoid adding BTC to their portfolio… and then for some reason also called BTC a “stable asset”.
Vanguard’s entrance into the spot ETF race would’ve been a huge coup for the industry, but unfortunately, Vanguard has held firm on its complete disdain for the digital asset sector. In fact, instead of simply refusing to offer any new Bitcoin ETF products, Vanguard took an extra step and completely discontinued all access to any existing crypto-related products too.
In addition to spot Bitcoin ETFs not being available for purchase on the Vanguard platform, effective immediately, Vanguard will no longer accept the purchase of cryptocurrency products, including Bitcoin futures ETFs.
Vanguard
Many in the community believe that Vanguard’s actions aren’t intended to be a financial statement. Rather, some are arguing they are the actions of a petulant, hypocritical child – which rings true when you consider Vanguard still offers access to assets like Coinbase, Tesla and other public BTC miners.
BTC Price Comes to a Standstill
It’s been an action-packed weekend for Bitcoin – but the price action didn’t get the memo. After the spot ETF approval, many in the community expected the market to take off (or sink), but in reality, there’s been a lot of sideways movement since the initial drop. BTC has more or less held the USD $42K (AUD $63K) mark for the past three days. And despite a few peaks during the build-up to the ETF announcement, this has essentially been BTC’s support level for the best part of a month.
While the lukewarm performance following the spot ETF approval may have disappointed some investors, it’s important to look at Bitcoin’s performance in context. Over the past 12 months, BTC is up 100% – it’s only natural that the market may have to consolidate, especially considering the macroeconomic conditions are still rather bearish. Calls of a bull market may have been slightly premature, but with the halving only 94 days away anything can happen between now and then.
Author
Ben Knight
Ben Knight is a writer and editor from Melbourne with a passion for all things music and finance. He enjoys turning complex topics – especially the technical details of cryptocurrency – into digestible bites that anybody can understand. He acquired his Master’s in Writing, Editing and Publishing from RMIT in 2019 and has run his own creative writing business ever since.
