The Vanguard Effect: Asset Manager Clients Fuel Bitcoin ETF Surge
Total spot Bitcoin ETF volume topped $5.1 billion on Tuesday
Welcome to the Wednesday edition of the Crypto In America newsletter!
What you’ll read: Vanguard’s crypto debut is moving markets, the SEC is doubling down on “making IPOs great again,” the industry is appealing to Congress over MSCI’s targeting of crypto firms, and CoinFund President Chris Perkins joins the podcast.
Vanguard’s decision to allow clients to buy and sell crypto ETFs on its brokerage platform sparked a sharp spike in trading volume for BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF and coincided with a 6% jump in the price of the world’s largest digital asset.
The move comes after Vanguard, the world’s largest mutual fund provider and the second-largest asset manager, gave its clients the green light to trade $BTC, $ETH, $XRP and $SOL ETFs on Monday.
Crypto In America was first to report Vanguard was planning the move in September.
Bitcoin’s price jump and higher ETF volumes could be fueled by Vanguard clients finally getting crypto access after years of restrictions. Bloomberg Senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas calls it the “Vanguard Effect,” and says the timing is no accident.
“I knew those Vanguardians had a little degen in them, even some of the most conservative investors like to add a little hot sauce to their portfolio.” said Balchunas, author of a book on Vanguard’s legendary founder Jack Bogle, widely considered the father of conservative investing — who, Balchunas notes, would never have touched crypto.
That Bogle mentality and company culture contributed to Vanguard’s hesitancy to embrace crypto with the same eagerness as BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, who brought Bitcoin ETFs to Wall Street in 2024.
Previous reporting by Crypto In America noted that Vanguard’s pivot was driven by growing customer demand for the products. It (likely) also helps that Vanguard’s CEO, Salim Ramji, came to the firm directly from BlackRock and was one of the architects behind the launch of BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF.
Now accessible to Vanguard clients and the top-performing crypto ETF, IBIT 0.00%↑ pulled in $1 billion in its first 30 minutes Tuesday morning. By day’s end, total spot Bitcoin ETF volume had topped $5.1 billion.
SEC Chair Calls for Revamp of Public Markets
SEC Chair Paul Atkins rang the Opening Bell at the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday and gave a speech calling for a revival of U.S. public markets.
Since taking the helm at Wall Street’s top cop, Atkins has been vocal about wanting to “make IPOs great again,” lamenting that there are nearly half as many public companies today as there were 30 years ago. Atkins echoed that sentiment at the corner of Wall and Broad, emphasizing the need to cut burdensome reporting requirements imposed by regulators that have kept American companies private longer.
“The question before us is not whether our entrepreneurs have the capacity to reinvigorate our capital markets, but whether we, as regulators, have the will,” Atkins said. “In this new day at the SEC, and under President Trump’s leadership, I am pleased to report that we do.”
The chairman also noted that a so-called “innovation exemption,” which would make it easier for crypto firms to operate in the U.S., is expected “in a month or so.”
SEC Turns to Tokenized Equities
On Thursday, the SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee will host a virtual panel on tokenizing equities as part of a broader event that will cover regulatory changes in corporate governance.
Panelists for the tokenization panel will include:
Scott Bauguess, Vice President of Global Regulatory Policy at Coinbase and former SEC Deputy Director of the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis
Samara Cohen, Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Market Development at BlackRock
Coy Garrison, Senior Director and Deputy General Counsel at Robinhood Crypto
Chuck Mack, Senior Vice President, Head of Strategic Operations and Public Policy at NASDAQ
Jonah Platt, Managing Director and US Head of Government & Regulatory Policy at Citadel Securities
Alex Thorn, Head of Firmwide Research at Galaxy Digital Holdings
Banking Committee Chair Hosts Crypto Capital Christmas Bash
On a cold and rainy Tuesday evening, Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), alongside Senators Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), hosted a crypto-themed Christmas get-together at D.C.’s newest Bitcoin hangout, Pubkey.
The event, attended by around 200 people and organized by GOP advocacy group Great Opportunity Policy, featured the premiere of Crypto Capital, a short eight-minute film that detailed the highs and lows of getting the GENIUS Act signed into law and touched on why passing a market structure bill is important.
Scott, who is wrapping up his first year as head of the Senate Banking Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, highlighted how the crypto industry’s opposition to his predecessor, former Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, not only helped put him in the Chairman’s seat but also meant he had a staff eager to tackle crypto policy out of the gate.
Another pro-crypto senator, Jon Husted (R-OH), also stopped by for a brief Q&A with his fellow senators. Additionally, officials from the Trump administration and industry players from a16z, Digital Chamber, Coinbase, Kraken, Crypto Council for Innovation, Crypto.com, Chainlink Labs, Ripple, and CleanSpark were present.
According to a handful of attendees who spoke with Crypto In America, it was a merry and bright crowd that also included Hill staffers and members of the media.
Adding to the festive spirit, Scott even floated dates for when the Banking Committee could hold a markup of its market structure text.
“There is a realistic path to having a markup on December the 17th or 18th in committee with the votes to get it done,” he said. “I believe we have 13 Republican votes. There are two or three already on the Democrat side who say they’re a yes.”
A markup on the 17th or 18th would bring the hearing right down to the wire, as members are set to head out of town for the holidays on the 18th.
Industry Appeals to Congress Over MSCI Crypto Delisting Controversy
One of the industry’s top advocacy groups is urging Congress to review a controversial proposal from global index giant MSCI to exclude companies with 50% or more of their balance sheets in crypto.
Digital Chamber, on behalf of its roughly 200 members, sent a letter to Senate Banking and House Financial Services leaders Wednesday warning that the move would misrepresent active digital asset businesses, distort benchmarks, and limit investor exposure to high-growth sectors. The Chamber argues digital assets are often productive capital and offered to brief lawmakers further on the situation.
MSCI, originally known as Morgan Stanley Capital International, caused a stir in the industry last month when it became public that the firm proposed removing active, operating blockchain and crypto firms like Strategy (which likely holds much more than the 50% threshold) from widely followed indexes, potentially affecting trillions in investor capital.
Strategy CEO Michael Saylor says the company is working with MSCI to make its case, arguing it deserves to stay in the indexes despite its Bitcoin-heavy balance sheet.
Institutions Not Perturbed by Market Downturn: CoinFund President
This week on the pod, we sit down with Chris Perkins, President and Managing Partner at CoinFund. We discuss why institutions haven’t shied away from crypto despite cooling markets, why Congress still hasn’t passed a market structure bill, and how the CFTC and SEC are likely to take the lead in 2026. Chris also explains how auto-deleveraging (ADL) on exchanges works and whether crypto should ever be fully separated from securities oversight.
We explore Perkins’ “privateering” concept, how he draws on military strategy from his time as a U.S. Marine captain to understand crypto’s geopolitical role, and what Tether’s credit downgrade could mean for the broader stablecoin market.
Watch this episode on all platforms here.
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