Vanguard is hiring a Head of Digital Assets, with responsibilities spanning tokenization, stablecoins, wallets, custody, on-chain settlement, and customer-facing product design. For this long-time cautious asset manager, the role signals a systematic evaluation of blockchain-based financial services—not merely observing market trends.
Role covers tokenization and settlement
According to the job posting, this position will be responsible for the digital assets strategy, roadmap, and execution for Vanguard’s personal wealth business, and will participate in evaluating how the company should assess, build, partner on, or defer related products and infrastructure.
The job requirements include not only tokenization and stablecoins, but also wallets, custody models, blockchain-based settlement systems, and digital asset operations systems. The job posting also states that the responsible individual will need to represent the company in communications with regulatory authorities, clients, industry organizations, and market participants.
Attitudes toward crypto products have changed.
Over the past few years, Vanguard has remained cautious toward crypto products. Although competitors entered the market after the U.S. approved spot Bitcoin ETFs in 2024, Vanguard has not launched any related products.
At the time, CEO Salim Ramji stated that Vanguard would not launch a crypto ETF simply to follow competitors, emphasizing the company’s commitment to a long-term investment approach.
However, this stance later softened. In December 2025, Vanguard stated that, following an evaluation of market liquidity, fund operations, and investor demand, it would allow most third-party crypto ETFs and mutual funds to trade on its brokerage platform.
Large asset management institutions are accelerating their deployment in RWA.
From the job description, Vanguard appears to be placing greater emphasis on tokenization and market infrastructure rather than directly announcing the launch of a crypto ETF—a direction consistent with the strategic focus of major asset management firms over the past two years.
Institutions such as Franklin Templeton, BlackRock, Fidelity, and State Street are expanding their coverage of tokenized products. Some products have already focused on tokenized money market funds, tokenized U.S. Treasuries, and on-chain liquidity management, with efforts to enable longer-term trading and subscription/redemption connectivity through crypto wallets.
According to RWA.xyz, the total value of distributed assets in the tokenized real-world assets market is currently approximately $30.87 billion, with tokenized U.S. Treasuries accounting for about $14.86 billion. Tokenized U.S. Treasuries have experienced rapid growth, primarily because they combine the yield of short-term Treasuries with on-chain settlement capabilities, offering relatively clear use cases.
Vanguard has not indicated plans to launch its own crypto ETF or tokenized fund. However, this hiring signals the company’s intent to have senior executives collectively evaluate product design, custody arrangements, risk controls, and customer service in preparation for future digital asset initiatives.