Vanguard hires digital assets chief after years of crypto resistance

Vanguard has posted a job opening for a head of digital assets, a senior role that would oversee the firm's strategy for cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based financial technology.

The position, listed within Vanguard Personal Wealth, calls for an executive to develop the firm's digital asset vision, identify business opportunities and lead execution across product, technology, operations, legal and compliance teams, according to the job description. The candidate will also advise senior leadership on changes in digital asset markets, represent Vanguard in discussions with regulators and industry groups and help shape the firm's long-term approach.

The search covers tokenization, stablecoins, digital wallets, custody, blockchain-enabled settlement and operating models as areas the executive will evaluate. The role also includes determining whether Vanguard should build new capabilities internally, partner with third parties or delay entering certain parts of the market.

The search marks another step in Vanguard's gradual shift toward digital assets after years of resisting the sector. The asset manager, which oversees roughly $10 trillion, remained one of crypto's largest institutional skeptics while peers such as BlackRock, Fidelity and Franklin Templeton rolled out spot bitcoin ETFs and other blockchain initiatives.

That stance began to soften in December, when Vanguard started allowing brokerage clients to trade cryptocurrency ETFs and mutual funds. The company has said it has no plans to issue its own crypto investment products, arguing that digital assets remained inconsistent with its long-term investment philosophy.

CEO Salim Ramji, who joined Vanguard from BlackRock in July 2024 after leading the firm's iShares business, which launched the iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT,) told Barron's before taking over that Vanguard's decision not to offer its own bitcoin ETF was "entirely consistent" with the firm's investment philosophy. He added that it was important for firms to remain consistent in the products and services they offer.

While the new job posting does not signal an imminent product launch, it broadens Vanguard's focus beyond simply offering access to third-party funds. The executive will be responsible for building a multi-year roadmap, designing governance and risk frameworks and assessing how digital assets could fit within Vanguard's broader wealth management business.

Stablecoin market cap fell to $312 billion in June, its largest monthly drop since TerraUSD's collapse, according to CCData. Tokenized equity volumes surged 145% to a record $3.86 billion over the same period.

The broader trend matters for Vanguard's timeline. The firm's new digital assets chief will inherit a landscape where tokenized real-world assets are growing fast but stablecoin liquidity is contracting, leaving open questions about which blockchain-based products fit inside a $10 trillion giant's portfolio.

Vanguard declined to comment on the hiring process or a target start date.