During a recent interview on Fox Business, VanEck CEO Jan van Eck shared his view on which cryptocurrency he believes has become the top choice among Wall Street investors. He made it clear that the answer is not XRP, a token many expected to fill that role. According to him, Ethereum is becoming the primary choice for banks and large financial companies due to the rise of stablecoins and digital currencies, and institutions that want to remain competitive cannot afford to ignore it.
Jan van Eck said Ethereum is the blockchain network to which Wall Street institutions are increasingly turning as its smart contracts and staking features provide practical applications in finance. According to the VanEck CEO, this may be why the digital currency is becoming an integral part of today’s financial systems, with institutions already using Ethereum for stablecoin payments, decentralized finance projects, and tokenized assets.
Data shows that over 19 public companies are holding 2.7 million ETH in their treasuries. Many of these companies are utilizing staking to generate a steady income. Investment advisers are also involved, with $1.3 billion in Ether ETF exposure, and Goldman Sachs accounts for more than half of that amount.
VanEck itself has joined this trend. The global investment management firm launched its Ethereum ETF in July 2024 and now manages over $4 million in assets. While the fund tracks Ether’s price without holding the actual tokens, it underscores the CEO’s confidence in Ethereum’s long-term role in global finance.
Van Eck also connected Ethereum’s rise to the rapid expansion of stablecoins. He points to the GENIUS Act, a new law passed earlier this year that gave banks and institutions greater confidence in using stablecoins backed by the U.S. dollar. The law brought stablecoins into the regulated financial system, and Van Eck said this has only strengthened Ethereum’s role as the backbone of digital finance.
“Every bank and every financial services company has to have a way of taking in stablecoins,” Van Eck said. He added that banks will eventually have to build on Ethereum or on chains that use “Ethereum-kind of methodology.”
Currently, Ethereum controls over 50% of the $280 billion stablecoin market, and experts say this figure could grow into the trillions in the coming years. Van Eck says Ethereum could benefit the most from the adoption of stablecoins by more banks and institutions. For the VanEck CEO, Ethereum is more than an altcoin; it is now the network at the center of the future financial world. That is why he called it the “Wall Street token” and predicts that it will play a leading role in the stablecoin and digital dollar revolution.
