Vanguard announced its new CEO, Salim Ramji, earlier this week, and it remains to be seen whether the company’s outlook on cryptocurrencies, and Bitcoin spot ETFs in particular, will change.

“I think it’s important for firms to have consistency”

Ramji, who moved to Vanguard from another investment giant like BlackRock, gave his first interview for Barron’s. Stating that the firm has a consistent policy, the new CEO said that a reversal of the previous decision on Bitcoin spot ETFs is not possible at the moment:

“I think it’s important for firms to have consistency in terms of what they stand for and the products and services they offer. I have heard Greg Davis’ explanation and I think it is entirely consistent with Vanguard’s investment philosophy. It is a logical and consistent point of view.”

All the executives were opposed

As will be remembered, after the SEC approved Bitcoin spot ETFs on January 10, Tim Buckley, CEO of Vanguard, said, “Bitcoin should not be in a long-term portfolio. It’s a very speculative asset. When stocks fell, Bitcoin fell harder than them. I can’t even imagine how such an asset would be in a long-term portfolio…”

Janel Jackson, her company’s global ETF manager, also said that cryptocurrencies still have an undeveloped market and that there is no economic value underlying these assets.

Ramji move had increased rumors

Ramji, who was said to be the most important figure in the launch of BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF, was also known to be responsible for a large portion of BlackRock’s client assets. His transition to Vanguard led to the question, “Are Bitcoin spot ETFs coming to Vanguard?”

Salim Ramji, the new CEO of the company, which has $8.9 trillion in assets under management, will officially take office on July 8.