Earlier today, Bitcoin was trading near the $92,000 mark but has since slipped back toward $90,000, highlighting ongoing market fluctuations despite the U.S. Federal Reserve’s recent decision to reduce interest rates by 25 basis points.
Following a brief surge above $93,000 yesterday, the cryptocurrency dropped below $90,000 and settled around $90,600 at the time of this report.
This retreat occurred amid mixed messages from the Federal Reserve. Although the rate cut to a range of 3.50%–3.75% was expected by many investors, Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s cautious tone combined with a divided FOMC vote—where nine members supported the cut while three opposed it and one advocated for a larger 50-basis-point reduction—dampened enthusiasm for riskier assets like Bitcoin.
Market experts characterized this price drop as a “sell on news” event since traders had already factored in the Fed’s move ahead of time.
In addition to these developments, Vanguard Group has recently enabled its clients to trade spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), marking an important step in broadening crypto investment options within its vast $12 trillion asset management portfolio.
However, senior executives at Vanguard remain skeptical about cryptocurrencies’ long-term value proposition.
John Ameriks, who leads Vanguard’s global quantitative equity division, expressed during Bloomberg’s ETFs in Depth conference that Bitcoin should be viewed more as a speculative collectible rather than an income-generating asset.
Drawing an analogy between BTC and popular viral plush toys like Labubu dolls—which gain popularity without producing cash flow—Ameriks pointed out that Bitcoin lacks fundamental qualities such as earnings growth or consistent returns that Vanguard typically seeks in sustainable investments.
“Without solid proof that its underlying technology creates lasting economic benefits,” he stated according to Bloomberg, “it is hard for me to regard Bitcoin as anything beyond just another digital Labubu.”
Despite these reservations,Vanguard decided to support BTC ETF trading on their platform after observing positive performance trends from such products since January 2024 when the first BTC ETF debuted.
The firm aimed to verify that these ETFs genuinely represent their claimed holdings and deliver expected results before making them available for client transactions.
Banks Increasingly Embrace Bitcoin
This week,PNC Bank became America’s first major bank offering direct spot bitcoin trading services via its digital platform exclusively for eligible Private Bank customers,in partnership with Coinbase’s Crypto-as-a-Service infrastructure.
This initiative follows PNC’s strategic collaboration announced earlier this summer,and exemplifies growing momentum among U.S.banks integrating bitcoin into wealth management offerings.
A similar shift was seen last week when Bank of America recommended allocating between 1%and 4%of client portfolios towards digital assets,a significant change signaling broader acceptance of cryptocurrencies within traditional financial institutions.
Currently,BTC trades near approximately $90,115.85 with nearly 19.96 million coins circulating globally,resulting in an overall market capitalization around $1.81 trillion.
The price has experienced moderate swings over recent days reflecting persistent volatility across crypto markets worldwide.
This article titled &ldquo ;Bitcoin Falls Below &dollar ;90&comma ;000 As Vanguard Exec Struggles With Bitcoin Value&rdquo ; originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine written by Micah Zimmerman .