Vanguard, one of the world’s largest asset managers and a long-time cryptocurrency skeptic, has opened a search for a head of digital assets, a senior role that would shape the company’s strategy across crypto and blockchain-based finance.
The job, posted this week at Vanguard Personal Wealth and based in Dallas, calls for a leader 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 posting, the hire would serve as Vanguard’s “senior subject matter expert,” advising senior executives on market developments and representing the firm in discussions with regulators and industry groups.
Vanguard also wants the executive to help shape “market standards” and build a scalable, end-to-end strategy for personal wealth clients.
The list extends beyond crypto trading. It names tokenization, stablecoins, digital wallets, custody and blockchain-based settlement as areas the new leader will evaluate, along with deciding whether Vanguard should build capabilities internally, partner with outside firms or wait to enter parts of the market.
The role would involve constructing a multi-year roadmap and designing governance and risk frameworks.
Vanguard’s journey into bitcoin
Vanguard reported $12 trillion in assets under management at the end of 2025, a scale that places it second only to BlackRock.
The move appears to mark the first time the firm has sought to hire someone dedicated to cryptocurrency strategy, and comes after years in which the bank differentiated itself from rivals. BlackRock, Fidelity and Franklin Templeton rolled out spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds and other blockchain products, while Vanguard declined to follow suit.
The company’s public position has been pointed out. Vanguard has described Bitcoin as an “immature asset class” that is ill-suited for long-term investors.
CEO Salim Ramji, who joined the company from BlackRock in July 2024 after leading its iShares business – the unit behind the large iShares Bitcoin ETF – has said the decision not to launch a Bitcoin ETF was “completely in line” with the firm’s investment philosophy, underscoring the value of consistency in the products a company offers.
Still, Vanguard has not been completely sidelined. In December, the firm began allowing brokerage clients to trade cryptocurrency ETFs and mutual funds on its platform, a move that opened up access to funds with 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 largest 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, and Vanguard has maintained that it has no plans to issue its own crypto investment instruments.
What the announcement suggests is a broadening of focus beyond simply providing access to third-party funds, towards assessing how digital assets can fit into its wealth management business over the long term.