When the word came down from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that investment companies could offer Bitcoin ETFs, Vanguard shrugged off the opportunity — but didn’t make an effort to let its investors know, leading to high volumes of online criticism and some investors closing their accounts. Neville and Shel dig into the communication failure in this short midweek episode.

Links from this episode:

• Jody Lowe on LinkedIn asks communicators for their views of Vanguard’s handling of its Bitcoin spot ETF decision
• Vanguard’s decision to shun bitcoin ETFs triggers backlash — with some customers moving to crypto-friendly competitors like Fidelity
• Vanguard Shuns Bitcoin ETFs, Faces Social Media Backlash From Crypto Enthusiasts: ‘Have Fun Staying Poor’
• One place you won’t find a bitcoin ETF: Jack Bogle’s Vanguard
• Cathie Wood Criticizes Vanguard’s Stance on Bitcoin ETFs
• Vanguard Blocks Spot Bitcoin ETF Trading, Prompting Some Investors to Close Accounts
• US bitcoin ETFs see $4.6B in volume in first day of trading
• What are spot bitcoin ETFs, and what’s the story behind the SEC’s approval of the story behind the SEC’s approval of these products? (Perplexity)
• Bitcoin price falls 15% following launch of ETFs

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The next monthly, long-form episode of FIR will drop on Monday, January 29.

We host a Communicators Zoom Chat most Thursdays at 1 p.m. ET. For credentials needed to participate, contact Shel or Neville directly, request the credentials in our Facebook group, or email fircomments@gmail.com.

Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.

You can find the stories from which Shel’s FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog. Shel has started a metaverse-focused Flipboard magazine. You can catch up with both co-hosts on Neville’s blog and Shel’s blog. Neville’s Asides blog is also available.

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