Vanguard
named
the
BlackRock
executive
who
oversaw
the
firm’s
launch
of
its
bitcoin
exchange-traded
fund
as
its
new
CEO
on
Tuesday
evening.
Salim
Ramji
left
BlackRock
in
January
to
“seek
a
new
leadership
or
entrepreneurial
opportunity
outside
the
firm,”
he
said
then.
The
move
came
shortly
after
the
asset
manager
launched
the
iShares
Bitcoin
Trust
(IBIT),
which
Ramji
oversaw
the
filing
and
logistics
for,
according
to
Bloomberg
Intelligence
senior
ETF
analyst
Eric
Balchunas.
-
00:58
GameStop’s
Business
Will
Fail
‘at
Some
Point’:
Economist -
01:04
Can
Miners
Survive
Lower
Bitcoin
Fees
and
Reduced
Rewards? -
01:46
Tornado
Cash’s
Alexey
Pertsev
Sentenced
to
64
Months
in
Prison;
Meme
Coins
Rally -
00:52
Why
Scammers
Are
Turning
to
Cryptocurrencies
“He
has
been
quoted
about
his
interest
in
digital
assets
although
I’m
not
sure
that’s
going
to
change
Vanguard’s
stance
but
he
will
be
the
CEO.
Who
knows.
Door
much
more
open
now
IMO,”
Balchunas
wrote
in
a
post
on
X.
The
Wall
Street
Journal
first
reported
the
appointment
earlier
on
Tuesday,
with
the
company
confirming
his
appointment
in
a
press
release
later
in
the
evening.
In
a
statement,
Ramji
said
he
would
be
working
with
Vanguard’s
leadership
to
“lead
the
company
into
the
future.”
“The
current
investor
landscape
is
changing,
and
that
presents
opportunities
for
Vanguard
to
further
its
mission
of
giving
people
the
best
chance
for
investment
success,
which
is
more
relevant
today
than
at
any
time
in
the
firm’s
five-decade
history,”
he
said.
“My
focus
will
be
to
mobilize
Vanguard
to
meet
the
moment
while
staying
true
to
that
core
purpose
–
remaining
the
trusted
firm
that
takes
a
stand
for
all
investors.”
Nate
Geraci,
president
of
the
ETF
Store
said:
“Will
be
interesting
to
see
if
Salim
Ramji
tries
to
help
Vanguard
investors
gain
access
to
crypto
as
he
believed
in
doing
for
BlackRock
investors.”
The
pick
comes
as
a
surprise
given
Vanguard’s
negative
stance
on
bitcoin
and
Ramji’s
known
interest
in
the
industry,
sparking
chatter
on
social
media
that
the
asset
manager
might
change
its
stance.
“The
underlying
technology
that
underpins
bitcoin
and
the
blockchain
technology,
something
that
we’re
incredibly
excited
about,
and
we’re
excited
about
it
because
it
removes
frictions
or
at
least
has
the
promise
of
removing
frictions
across
the
ecosystem,”
Ramji
said
in
an
interview
on
Bloomberg
TV
in
July
2023.
“The
underpinnings
are
really
powerful
for
us
and
that
really
sparked
our
interest.”
If
confirmed,
this
will
also
mark
the
first
time
that
Vanguard
is
hiring
a
CEO
from
outside
the
company.
UPDATE
(May
14,
2024,
21:13
UTC):
Adds
confirmation
from
Vanguard.
