Bitcoin (BTC-USD) fans are excited by Vanguard Group raising its stake in Bitcoin miners.
The investment manager, with over $8 trillion under management, raised its stake in Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:RIOT) stock by 2.7 million shares and its stake in Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) stock by 6.6 million shares.
Vanguard now owns about $300 million of stock in each company, roughly a 10% stake.
Both Bitcoin mining stocks have been on a tear lately, each up about 440% in 2023. Riot opened at $18.09/share, Marathon at $18/share. Both MARA stock and RIOT stock are up about 3% today.
Bitcoin was trading this morning at $31,000, with a market capitalization of $600 billion.
MARA Stock, RIOT Stock and Bitcoin’s Legitimacy
Bitcoin bulls see the new Vanguard investments as another step in legitimizing cryptocurrency. It follows moves by Blackrock (NYSE:BLK) to create a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Vanguard’s official position on Bitcoin in 2021, during the last tech bull market, was that the long-term investment case for it was weak. It is now Marathon’s largest shareholder.
In 2022, a tough year for Vanguard and the markets, Chief Investment Officer Greg Davis said the advisor saw merit in the technology but would steer clients toward “time-tested” products.
Institutional investors like Vanguard, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and Blackrock own about half the stock in Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN), the cryptocurrency exchange.
Advocates see Bitcoin as an alternative to the U.S. dollar and other currencies. But its price has fluctuated alongside the market for tech stocks. Bitcoin traded for nearly $69,000 during the 2021 bull market and for $18,000 at the end of the recent bear market.
Standard Chartered, a British bank, recently predicted Bitcoin prices will rise to $120,000 next year. Recently Bitcoin was trading for about $30,000.
What Happens Next
Vanguard’s investments in the Bitcoin miners loom large to the industry but represent a minuscule portion of the fund manager’s assets. It is symbolic, however, and could keep the year’s bull run in crypto prices rolling.
As of this writing, Dana Blankenhorn held a LONG position in VTI, the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
