Jan van Eck – the CEO of VanEck – one of the first global financial companies to file for a spot Bitcoin ETF years ago – believes BTC is a unique asset that will be extremely hard to duplicate or outdo.
He also refuted the speculations that the asset is one big bubble and said there will be a new all-time high within the next 12 months.
While explaining how he got interested and involved in the primary cryptocurrency, van Eck said he saw similarities with gold that brought him closer to bitcoin. As such, his firm decided to file for a spot Bitcoin ETF back in 2017, which made them the “first established ETF player” to do so.
Since then, the company has faced numerous rejections and delays by the US Securities and Exchange Commission but continues to amend its applications. Just last week, it changed the ticker for its ETF proposal to HODL. Van Eck said the company is proud of the new name’s ticker.
Circling back to the similar performances of both gold and bitcoin, the exec said they tend to move in the same direction and have the same macro behind them. This, alongside the upcoming halving and the potential approval of ETFs, could propel BTC’s price higher. In fact, VanEck’s CEO sees a new all-time high above $69,000 (registered in late 2021) to occur within the next 12 months.
BTC’s price has gone on numerous ups and downs, which made many doubters call it bubble that will eventually burst. It has been compared to historic bubbles like the tulip mania in Europe.
However, van Eck refuted these claims, saying, “Nothing that has ever been a bubble, then has outperformed itself,” which bitcoin has done quite a few times already.
On the question of whether he sees a new asset outplacing BTC in the future, van Eck said he doesn’t see another “internet store of value” that will emerge and “leapfrog” bitcoin.
When asked about the growing criticism in regards to being used in criminal activities of Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan, and other bankers, van Eck said:
“Don’t throw the first stone if you are associated with the bank or any other financial institution that’s never been involved with criminals in one shape or the other. I will leave it with that.”