Vanguard, a longtime crypto skeptic, is hiring a head of digital assets to develop a long-term strategy. The role could shape how the $12 trillion manager approaches tokenization and custody.
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Vanguard is hiring its first head of digital assets, a move that breaks with years of public skepticism toward cryptocurrency. The job posting, published this week within Vanguard Personal Wealth and based in Dallas, calls for an executive to build a long-term strategy across tokenization, stablecoins, digital wallets, custody, and blockchain-based settlement.
The hire would serve as the firm's senior subject matter expert, advise senior leadership on market developments, and represent Vanguard in discussions with regulators and industry groups, according to the posting. The role also involves constructing a multi-year roadmap and deciding whether to build capabilities in-house, partner with outside firms, or hold off on entering parts of the market.
Vanguard reported $12 trillion in assets under management at the end of 2025, placing it second only to BlackRock among global asset managers. The firm has long stood apart from rivals that embraced crypto products. BlackRock, Fidelity, and Franklin Templeton launched spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds and other blockchain offerings while Vanguard declined to follow. Vanguard has described Bitcoin as an "immature asset class" ill-suited to long-term investors.
Chief Executive Salim Ramji, who joined from BlackRock in July 2024 after leading the iShares business behind the large iShares Bitcoin ETF, has said the decision not to launch a Bitcoin ETF was "entirely consistent" with the firm's investment philosophy.
Even so, Vanguard has not stayed entirely on the sidelines. In December, the firm began allowing brokerage clients to trade cryptocurrency ETFs and mutual funds on its platform, opening access to funds holding Bitcoin and some other crypto. At one point last year, the bank also became the largest shareholder in Strategy, the company that holds the world's biggest corporate Bitcoin treasury – a position that flowed from its index funds rather than an active bet on the asset.
The new search does not signal an imminent product launch. Vanguard has maintained that it has no plans to issue its own crypto investment vehicles. What the posting does suggest is a broadening of focus beyond simply granting access to third-party funds, toward assessing how digital assets might fit within its wealth management business over the long term.
The job remains open with no announced deadline for applications.
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