Vanguard Triples Down on Its Anti-Bitcoin Stance: Weak, Lacks Intrinsic Value

Vanguard, the second-largest ETF provider, has tripled down on its rejection of bitcoin and the crypto asset class, declaring that the merits of these digital assets are “weak” and based on speculation.

Vanguard Belittles Bitcoin Yet Again: Might Make Investors Lose Money

Even with the recent hike in price and interest for bitcoin and the crypto asset class, some companies are still unsure about the digital assets’ staying power. Vanguard, the world’s second-largest provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has declared recently that bitcoin has “no role in long-term investment portfolios” because the asset class is “risky and lacks intrinsic value.”

According to an AFR article, Duncan Burns, Vanguard’s Asia-Pacific business CIO, remarked that the superiority of bitcoin was still not established in the investment market, and stated that digital assets, in this context, were “weak.”

He declared:

While many speculators have made money on cryptocurrencies, there are as many if not more who have made a loss. And I suspect a lot more will lose money in the future.

Burns insisted in his criticism of crypto and bitcoin, adding that the prime cryptocurrency lacked cash flows and could not be objectively valued. For him, this means that current crypto prices are the result of pure speculation, and disconnected from any economic fundamentals. “Hazarding a guess,” he concluded.

Burns’ statements are consistent with Vanguard’s stance on bitcoin and crypto. The company has repeatedly declared that it had no plans to offer bitcoin or crypto ETFs to its customers, maintaining the same position it assumed when these were approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Read more: Vanguard Blocks Customers From Trading SEC-Approved Spot Bitcoin ETFs

At that time, Vanguard’s Global Head of ETF Capital Markets Janel Jackson, referred to crypto as an “immature asset class that has little history, no inherent economic value, no cash flow, and can create havoc within a portfolio.”

Read more: Vanguard Says No to Bitcoin ETFs — Views Crypto as ‘Immature Asset Class’ With ‘No Inherent Economic Value’

Vanguard’s actions differ from its larger rival, Blackrock, which has embraced crypto and handles the largest Bitcoin ETF instrument. IBIT currently holds over $50 billion worth of BTC, storing more than 2% of bitcoin’s share.