In a seismic shift for traditional finance, Vanguard—the world’s second-largest asset manager and one of crypto’s most persistent skeptics—has opened its gates. Starting December 2, 2025, the firm’s roughly 50 million brokerage clients can, for the first time, trade third-party exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and mutual funds that hold major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Solana. This move, reversing years of staunch opposition, grants a vast new pool of mainstream investors regulated access to digital assets and signals a profound shift in institutional acceptance.
The Details of the Policy Shift
Vanguard, which oversees a staggering $8 to $11 trillion in assets, is not launching its own crypto products. Instead, it will allow trading of established, regulated third-party funds on its brokerage platform, treating them similarly to other non-core assets like gold. The decision is a direct response to “persistent retail and institutional demand” and marks the end of a policy that saw Vanguard reject spot Bitcoin ETFs in 2024 and even restrict customers from buying competing funds. The company has specified that funds tied to memecoins or those lacking proper regulatory backing will remain barred.
Why Vanguard Changed Its Mind
This reversal is the result of converging pressures that finally overcame internal resistance. For years, Vanguard leadership, most notably former CEO Tim Buckley, publicly argued that cryptocurrencies were speculative assets with no place in a long-term retirement portfolio. However, the explosive success of spot Bitcoin ETFs, which swelled to nearly $120 billion in assets, created undeniable competitive pressure as rivals like BlackRock and Fidelity captured massive inflows.
A critical catalyst was a change at the top. Buckley’s retirement and the appointment of Salim Ramji—a former BlackRock executive who oversaw the launch of the iShares Bitcoin Trust—as Vanguard’s new CEO signaled a potential pivot. Internally, executives acknowledged that the operational processes for crypto funds had matured and that these ETFs had performed as designed, maintaining liquidity even through recent market volatility. In short, the market evolved, and Vanguard’s clients demanded access.
Implications for Investors the Crypto Landscape
For millions of investors, this move dramatically lowers the barrier to entry. It provides a familiar, trusted, and regulated pathway to gain crypto exposure without the complexities of private keys and crypto exchanges. The sheer scale of Vanguard’s client base suggests the potential for significant new capital flows into the approved ETFs over time.
For the broader market, Vanguard’s endorsement is a powerful legitimizing force. When one of the world’s most conservative asset managers acknowledges crypto as a viable asset class, it weakens the arguments of remaining skeptics and paves the way for wider adoption across traditional finance. It symbolizes a turning point where digital assets are increasingly integrated into the conventional financial ecosystem.
However, Vanguard maintains its cautious philosophy. The firm has no plans to create its own crypto products and continues to warn investors of the asset class’s inherent volatility and risk. This measured approach—providing access while stopping short of full embrace—may become a model for other traditional firms. Ultimately, Vanguard’s reversal is less about a sudden belief in crypto’s value and more a pragmatic acknowledgment of client choice and an irreversible trend in modern finance.
