Jay van Eck, CEO of $108 billion asset manager VanEck, said Friday that he has “well over 30%” of his personal wealth invested in Bitcoin (BTC).
The confession took place during Friday’s first panel on the Nakamoto stage, which was attended by a number of investment management executives offering Bitcoin ETF products. VanEck is one such company, whose Bitcoin Trust has accumulated $714.09 million in assets to date.
“I always want to tell people what I do personally,” Eck told the crowd.
The CEO explained that determining how much money individuals and companies should put into Bitcoin is a difficult matter, as the thesis of the digital currency’s bullish nature apparently destroys any argument for selling it.
He cited the company’s research this month suggesting that Bitcoin could grow 50-fold to $3 million per coin by 2050 if it is adopted as a global reserve currency.
Despite this promise, professional investors are accustomed to recommending portfolio diversification strategies that cause them to sell their Bitcoins – just when it’s the middle of a bull market.
“Everyone I meet at Bitcoin conferences has a lot more in their portfolio,” – Eck said. “Why should I sell Bitcoins if I believe in this superhighway?”
Launching crypto ETFs
Eck’s experience mirrors that of Robert Mitchnick, who said Thursday that the “buy and hold” nature of Bitcoin ETF holders is quite unusual. BlackRock has had only one day of net outflows since launching its Bitcoin ETF in January.
VanEck is far from a cryptocurrency-focused company, as it has been issuing exchange-listed products for decades. In recent years, the company has shifted to publicly promoting digital assets, and its Twitter account manager frequently engages with people and the online cryptocurrency culture.
Last month, VanEck became the first company to apply to launch a Solana ETF, responding to the SEC’s desire to approve Ether ETFs for trading. However, at BlackRock , Mitchnick said Friday that they are not interested in launching ETFs further down the cryptocurrency risk curve.
“The next likely investment asset is about 3%” of the total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies, Mitchnick said. “It’s just not close to reaching that threshold or history of maturity, liquidity, etc.”
