Vanguard Group has increased its investment in Bitcoin mining companies Marathon Digital Holdings and Riot Blockchain in two July 10 filings.
Vanguard now owns 17.5 million shares of Marathon. That number is displayed in the line with the total amount of the beneficial owners of each reporter in a submit filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Another submit shows that Vanguard owns 17.9 million shares of Riot Blockchain, Marathon’s main competitor. Both filings were effective June 30, but dated July 10.
Reports from Fintel suggest Vanguard now owns it 10.31% from Marathon and 10.24% of Riot through its investments. Vanguard’s latest Marathon investment also represents a nearly 60% increase from February, when it owned 10.97 million shares and 9.39% of the mining company. The latest Riot investment represents an 18% increase since February, when Vanguard owned 15.2 million shares and 9.09% of the company.
Marathon stock (MARA) trades at 5:47 p.m., dipping the value of Vanguard’s holdings at $305.73 million. RIOT shares are trading at 17.28, bringing the value of Vanguard’s holdings to $313.97 million. Together, these investments represent a stake in two leading Bitcoin mining companies and are worth a combined $619.7 million.
Vanguard has little other interest in crypto
Vanguard is currently the second largest asset manager in the world, with $8.1 trillion in assets under management (AUM) as of 2022.
Despite its focus on offering exchange-traded funds, Vanguard did not file an application for a spot Bitcoin ETF fund alongside BlackRock and Fidelity in June.
The company has also discouraged direct crypto investment. In May 2022, Vanguard CIO Greg Davis described cryptocurrency as a speculative asset with no intrinsic value and not a “great way to build a long-term portfolio for clients.” However, Davis noted that the company uses blockchain technology to retrieve index data.
The company published a more general statement April 2022warning of price volatility and high commission rates, as well as the speculative nature of crypto.
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