Jan van Eck, the CEO of investment management firm VanEck, has suggested that Ethereum will emerge as the dominant blockchain as banks prepare for a wave of stablecoin adoption.
In an interview with Fox News Business on Wednesday, van Eck explained that financial institutions will inevitably need to integrate blockchain infrastructure to handle stablecoin transactions.
“It’s very much what I call the Wall Street token,” van Eck said.
“And what I mean by that is, if you think that because of stablecoins, now every bank and every financial services company has to have a way of taking in stablecoins.”
He added that the eventual “winner” will likely be Ethereum or a network built on similar technology, known as ECM.
U.S. Law and Stablecoin Growth
The timing of van Eck’s remarks comes shortly after the passage of the Genius Act, a landmark U.S. law signed by President Donald Trump in July.
The legislation is the first federal law focused exclusively on payment stablecoins, marking a turning point in how regulators approach digital assets.
At the same time, the stablecoin market has swelled, with the total supply surpassing $280 billion in recent weeks.
A report published on May 14 by Fireblocks revealed that 90% of institutional investors surveyed are actively exploring stablecoin use within their operations.
Financial Institutions Facing Pressure
Van Eck argued that financial institutions will have no choice but to adapt to the shift toward stablecoins or risk being left behind.
“Companies have to employ technology to enable stablecoin usage over the next 12 months,” he said.
“It will take a while, but no financial services company wants to say, ‘no, don’t send me that digital dollar.’”
He stressed that if banks fail to accommodate stablecoin transfers, customers will inevitably turn to alternative institutions.
This sentiment was echoed earlier this year by Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization, who warned that banks unwilling to embrace crypto could be extinct within a decade.
VanEck’s Ethereum ETF and Market Performance
Van Eck’s perspective is partly influenced by his firm’s direct involvement with Ethereum.
In July 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved VanEck’s launch of an Ethereum-based exchange-traded fund (ETF).
The product tracks the price of Ether (ETH) but does not directly hold the asset.
As of Wednesday, the ETF held more than $284 million in assets under management.
Meanwhile, Ethereum itself continues to demonstrate strong market momentum.
On Sunday, Ether reached a new all-time high of $4,946, though it has since retraced slightly and was trading at $4,566, down 1% over the last 24 hours.
Corporate Adoption Bolsters Ethereum Narrative
Beyond speculation, Ethereum’s real-world adoption has gained traction as corporations add Ether to their treasuries.
Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise, argued earlier this year that Ethereum’s treasury adoption has addressed its “narrative problem.”
By presenting ETH as a corporate treasury asset, the platform has become more accessible to traditional investors, drawing significant new inflows.
In the past month alone, corporate treasuries have purchased more than $6 billion worth of Ether, with firms such as BitMine and SharpLink among the most active buyers.
This wave of adoption reinforces van Eck’s belief that Ethereum will remain central as stablecoins reshape global finance.
