vaneck

Bitcoin won’t be beaten as digital store of value: VanEck CEO

“It’s impossible for me to imagine some other internet store of value [will] leapfrog Bitcoin,” said Jan van Eck, making a bullish case for BTC.

The CEO of investment management firm VanEck says he can’t see a world where Bitcoin (BTC) is overtaken as the leading store of value on the internet.

“I think it’s impossible for me to imagine some other internet store of value [will] leapfrog Bitcoin,” Jan van Eck said in a Dec. 16 interview with CNBC.

The CEO — $76.4 billion in assets under management — also crushed accusations that Bitcoin is in a “bubble,” — explaining that no asset has ever been in a bubble that continues to outperform itself every market cycle. He added:

Bitcoin new high set for late 2024, Binance to lose top spot, predicts VanEck

Next year will see Binance lose its leadership position, a U.S. recession, new stablecoin market cap highs and a new peak price for Bitcoin, according to asset manager VanEck.

Bitcoin (BTC) will hit a new all-time high in late 2024 on the backdrop of a long-feared United States recession and regulatory shifts after the next U.S. presidential election, asset manager VanEck predicts.

On Dec. 8, VanEck made 15 crypto predictions for 2024, including price forecasts, timings of a spot Bitcoin ETF launch, the impact of the Bitcoin halving, and emerging dominant crypto platforms.

Magazine: Asia Express: HTX hacked again for $30M, 100K Koreans test CBDC, Binance 2.0

Bitcoin new high set for late 2024, Binance to lose top spot — VanEck

2024 will see Binance lose its leadership position, a U.S. recession, new stablecoin market cap highs and a new peak price for Bitcoin, according to asset manager VanEck.

Bitcoin (BTC) will hit a new all-time high in late 2024 because of a long-feared United States recession and regulatory shifts after the next U.S. presidential election, asset manager VanEck predicts.

On Dec. 8, VanEck made 15 crypto predictions for 2024, including price forecasts, the timing of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) launches, the impact of the Bitcoin halving, and emerging dominant crypto platforms.

Magazine: Asia Express: HTX hacked again for $30M, 100K Koreans test CBDC, Binance 2.0

Ethereum price rallies toward key resistance but is ETH’s strength sustainable?

Ethereum’s price rally toward $2,100 is driven by new developments in the layer-2 space and investors’ anticipation of a spot BTC ETF.

Ether (ETH) is trading higher on Dec.

*Ether 12-hour price index, USD. Source: TradingView*

However, the current positive momentum is supported by several factors, including applications for spot ETFs and the expansion of Ethereum’s ecosystem, driven by layer-2 solutions.

ETH benefits from ETF expectations and negative news related to competing blockchains

A pivotal development occurred on Nov. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) initiating the review process for Fidelity’s spot Ether ETF proposal, filed on Nov.

Despite analysts predicting the SEC might delay its decision to early 2024, interim deadlines for applications by VanEck and ARK 21Shares on Dec.

The Ethereum network’s growth, especially in transaction activity and layer-2 development, is noteworthy.

This growth is reflected in Ethereum’s total value locked (TVL), which recently hit a two-month high of 13 million ETH, spurred by a 13% weekly gain in Spark and a 60% increase in Blast user deposits.

*Ethereum network top DApps by TVL. Source: DefiLlama*

In contrast, Tron, another leading blockchain in TVL terms, witnessed a 12% decline over the past ten days. Recent high-profile hacks linked to Tron’s founder Justin Sun have also swayed investor confidence toward Ethereum.

Still waiting: SEC delays VanEck’s third Bitcoin spot ETF application

The wait for a first Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund continues as the U.S. SEC buys more time to make a decision on VanEck’s proposed BTC ETF.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has pushed back a decision on the latest application for a Bitcoin (BTC) spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) by global investment firm VanEck.

The company has long been trying to get the green light for what will be the first BTC ETF in America, with its first application lodged with the SEC dating back to 2017, which was eventually denied.

VanEck saw a second application ruled out in November 2021 by the SEC, reasoning that the firm had not met thestandards to protect investors as well as prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices.

VanEck persevered with a third application for a BTC ETF offering in June 2022 filed with the SEC, highlighting a number of reasons why the SEC should reconsider its previous decisions.

VanEck’s primary argument was that American funds were gaining exposure to Bitcoin through BTC spot exchange-traded products offered in Canada. America’s northern neighbor approved a spot Bitcoin ETF in February 2021, becoming one of the first countries around the world to do so.

The deadline for approval of the latest filing with the SEC was set to expire on Aug. 27, leading the regulator to postpone its decision on the matter by almost two months.

The SEC has given itself until Oct. 11 to make a ruling and noted that it had not received any comments on the proposed rule change after calling for public consultation in July 2022:

“The Commission finds that it is appropriate to designate a longer period within which to take action on the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change and the issues raised therein.”

The push for an American spot Bitcoin ETF has been a talking point since 2017, which would essentially allow institutional investors to buy shares representing Bitcoin that would be held by VanEck. This gives investors exposure to Bitcoin without having to physically own and store the cryptocurrency. VanEck intends to list its BTC ETF product on the Cboe BZX Exchange.

Fairfax County highlights the value in the ‘short-term nature’ of yield farming

Fairfax County continues to invest public retirement funds in the cryptocurrency space, highlighting the “short-term nature” of yield farming as an appealing portfolio diversifier.

Virginia’s Fairfax County continues to be a prominent public institutional investor in the cryptocurrency space and is set to diversify its portfolio with a move into yield farming.

As previously reported, global asset managers VanEck announced that the Fairfax Employees’ Retirement System and Police Retirement System will invest $35 million into the firm’s crypto lending fund. It’s the latest investment move by the two county-run funds in the cryptocurrency space since their original foray began in 2018.

Cointelegraph reached out to Andy Spellar, the chief investment officer of the Fairfax Employees’ Retirement System, to unpack their investment in VanEck’s crypto lending fund and the reasoning behind it.

Spellar confirmed that the Employees’ Retirement System (ERS) had committed $25 million to the fund while the Police Officers’ Retirement System (PORS) had pledged $10 million. The investment will take place between July and September this year, depending on market conditions.

An initial tranche has already been received by VanEck, with Spellar revealing that the ERS and PORS have invested $10 million and $5 million, respectively, for the month of July.

The move is certainly good news for the cryptocurrency space, which is currently enduring a severe downturn alongside conventional stock markets worldwide. The decentralized finance (DeFi) sector has arguably suffered the most, with the collapse of algorithmic stablecoin Terra causing a cascading effect throughout the space.

As the wider cryptocurrency ecosystem weathers the storm, investment schemes and funds like Fairfax County’s ERS and PORS continue to see the value offered by the sector, as Spellar told Cointelegraph:

“We have looked at the space as a diversifier with our credit/high yield portfolios and particularly performance periods like the very short-term nature (1–3 months) of the positions.”

Spellar offered food for thought on the current market conditions, noting that a risk-adjusted basis outlook suggests that cryptocurrency markets haven’t sold off any more than high growth sectors like tech, life sciences or government bonds:

“We have not seen anything to counter the long-term thesis that more things than less will be digitized in the future, including traditional assets themselves. These types of markets shake out weak players and technologies and are overall healthy for markets and industries.”

The ERS and PORS funds have managed to fare well amid broad market sell-offs due to their broadly diversified portfolios. Spellar noted that both are top-performing public funds across short and long-term time domains and expects the latest quarter of the year to be no different in terms of performance.

Despite the first six months of 2022 being one of the worst performance periods on record, Fairfax expects both systems to be top decile performers over the period. Spellar said the digital asset segment of their portfolio was very small, with the vast majority made up of traditional venture capital equity investments.