Jan van Eck, CEO of investment management firm VanEck, believes Ethereum is positioned to emerge as the leading blockchain as banks gear up for a surge in stablecoin adoption.
Speaking with Fox Business on Wednesday, van Eck said financial institutions will need to rely on blockchain networks to process stablecoin transactions — and he sees Ethereum as the frontrunner.
“It’s what I like to call the Wall Street token,” he explained. “With the rise of stablecoins, every bank and financial services company will need a way to accept and integrate them — and Ethereum is the natural fit.”
“So the winner is, who’s going to be building on these blockchains? It’s going to be Ethereum or something that uses Ethereum kind of methodology, which is called ECM.”
Last month, the U.S. House approved the Genius Act, which was later signed into law by President Donald Trump. The measure marks the nation’s first federal legislation dedicated solely to payment stablecoins. At the same time, the total supply of stablecoins has surpassed $280 billion.
Ethereum — or a similar blockchain — will serve as the backbone for stablecoins
VanEck’s CEO also warned that as more companies move toward stablecoin adoption, banks will be forced to adapt or risk being left behind.
A May 14 report from digital asset platform Fireblocks revealed that 90% of surveyed institutional players are exploring ways to integrate stablecoins into their operations.
“Over the next 12 months, companies will need to adopt technology that enables stablecoin transactions,” van Eck said. “It may take time, but no financial institution wants to be in a position to say, ‘don’t send me that digital dollar.’”
“If I want to send you stablecoins, your bank has to figure it out that, or you will find some other institution to do that.”
In April, Eric Trump — executive vice president of the Trump Organization and son of U.S. President Trump — echoed similar views but took them further, warning that banks must embrace crypto or face extinction within the next decade.
VanEck has an Ether ETF
Jan van Eck’s remarks aren’t entirely surprising, given that his firm, VanEck, launched an Ether-based exchange-traded fund after receiving approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in July 2024.
The fund tracks Ether’s price rather than holding the asset directly, and as of Aug. 27, it manages more than $284 million in assets.
Ether reached a new all-time high in August
Van Eck’s remarks come as Ether recently set a new all-time high on Sunday, climbing above $4,946, according to CoinGecko. It has since pulled back slightly, trading at $4,566 — down 1% over the past 24 hours.
Ethereum’s momentum has been fueled in part by corporations adding Ether to their treasuries.
In July, Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise, told Cointelegraph that treasury adoption has helped resolve Ethereum’s “narrative problem” by presenting the asset in a framework traditional investors can easily grasp, ultimately attracting more capital.
Over the last month alone, corporate treasury firms have purchased more than $6 billion worth of Ether, with BitMine and SharpLink among the most active buyers.
