✅ What changed at Vanguard
Vanguard officially reversed its long-standing ban and now allows its clients to trade regulated cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund$ETH and mutual funds that hold major cryptocurrencies — including Bitcoin$BTC Ethereum (ETH),$XRP and Solana (SOL).
This decision covers third-party funds only — Vanguard is not launching its own crypto products. The move is framed as giving clients access through regulated, compliant vehicles rather than a full endorsement of crypto as a core asset.
The change goes into effect as of December 2, 2025, opening access to more than ~50 million brokerage customers and signalling a major policy reversal for the $11 trillion-AUM firm.
🔎 Why Vanguard reversed — and why now
The shift reflects the growing maturity of the crypto fund ecosystem: regulated ETFs and mutual funds have stood the test of volatility, showing improved liquidity, infrastructure, and compliance standards.
Competitive pressure: rivals already offered crypto exposure (via ETFs) to clients, and Vanguard risked losing clients seeking crypto-based investments inside traditional brokerage accounts.
Evolving investor demand: as more retail and institutional investors express desire for regulated crypto access (not direct coin holdings), Vanguard adjusted to reflect shifting preferences without abandoning its conservative investing philosophy.
💡 What it could mean — market-wide implications
Potential new capital inflows: Given Vanguard’s massive client base and $11 trillion assets under management, even modest adoption could channel billions of dollars into crypto ETFs — boosting demand for BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, etc.
