On December 2, 2025, the world's second-largest asset management company Vanguard announced a significant policy shift: effective immediately, its more than 50 million brokerage accounts (managing a total asset scale of over $11 trillion) can trade third-party Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana, and other cryptocurrency ETFs and related mutual funds.
This giant, known for its 'hardcore conservatism' and previously looking down on cryptocurrencies, has finally chosen to compromise under pressure from customer loss, marking the fall of what is considered Wall Street's 'last bastion'.
From stubbornness to surrender: Vanguard's 180-degree turn
Vanguard's founder John Bogle spent his life advocating for low-cost index funds and long-term value investing, always looking down on high volatility assets like BTC and ETH. When the Bitcoin spot ETF is approved in the U.S. in 2024, Vanguard even prohibited clients from trading, and Bitcoin futures ETFs were delisted.
Now, the newly appointed CEO Salim Ramji (former BlackRock executive) is pushing for a policy reversal. Although Vanguard still emphasizes that it will not launch its own crypto products, it has clearly opened up all compliant third-party crypto ETFs, excluding meme coin-related products.
The core reason is only one: clients are voting with their feet.
Competitors like Fidelity and Schwab have already opened crypto trading; if Vanguard does not follow suit, it can only watch customers leave with their money.
The market reacted instantly: IBIT's single-day trading volume skyrocketed by $5.1 billion.
On the day the news was announced, BlackRock's IBIT trading volume directly hit a historical high of $5.1 billion, and the price of Bitcoin rebounded over 6% from a low of $84,000, returning above $91,000, with the total market cap of crypto across the network re-establishing itself at $3.2 trillion.
On social media platforms, the community is in an uproar:
- "Boomers can finally buy Bitcoin; this Thanksgiving dinner is going to explode."
- "Once Vanguard falls, those few still holding out won’t last long either."
The trillion-level capital floodgates have been opened.
With 50 million accounts, even if only 1% of assets are allocated to crypto ETFs, it means at least $110 billion in potential demand. Reality will be more moderate; initially, it may only see inflows of tens of billions to a hundred billion range, but in the long run, this represents a true source of "sticky capital."
What’s even scarier is the chain reaction:
- The two largest asset management companies in the world (BlackRock + Vanguard) have all turned to crypto ETFs, and the traditional clients' perceptions have been completely rewritten.
- U.S. banks have simultaneously advised financial advisors to allocate 1-4% crypto exposure for their clients.
- The compliance departments of pension funds, university endowments, and family offices are frantically revising investment policies.
Cryptographic assets are transforming from "fringe speculative toys" to "diversification tools similar to gold."
The surrender of Vanguard is not a victory of faith, but a victory of reality. When the most stubborn conservatives raise their hands in surrender, it indicates that the game has completely changed.
In 2026, when you open your 401(k) retirement account and find that 0.5% has been automatically allocated to a Solana ETF,
Don't be surprised,
You are just witnessing history.
