VanEck, one of the largest investment management firms, has pioneered many investment products and trends that have transformed the world of finance, including the first gold equity fund in the United States in 1968. This year, VanEck ventured into the cryptocurrency space, launching a $30 million fund. dollar. A fund to support early-stage cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, and fintech startups.
The fund is called VanEck Ventures and will be led by Wyatt Lonergan and Juan Lopez. The two are seasoned investors and previously headed Circle Ventures, the investment arm of Circle, which issued USDC. Sticking to their roots, they say their FinTech fund sits at the intersection of cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence, with a particular focus on stablecoins.
“We think stablecoins are what inevitably pushes us into kind of this next iteration of diminishing the initial reason why the industry was so excited about blockchain,” Juan Lopez said. “But it helps us achieve this in a way where a market participant, whether a consumer or a business, doesn’t need to sacrifice their local currency type to get the benefits of what blockchain offers today.”
Lonergan added that he sees stablecoins as the ChatGPT of cryptocurrencies.
Lopez said the fund is looking for what they describe as product-obsessed founders who carry a “huge chip on their shoulder from the past” and are looking to solve a problem in the fund’s niche category.
Lonergan says this is a good time for fintech startups, in part because of the Lummis-Gillibrand Payment Stablecoin Act, a bill that seeks to provide a clear regulatory framework for payment stablecoins. Cryptocurrency supporters hope the bill will pass during the upcoming lame-duck session of Congress, although others are skeptical.
“We think this will lead to this kind of Cambrian explosion of blockchain-based fintech products over the next five to 10 years,” Lonergan said. “It’s hard to ignore something that’s $24 trillion a year, and yet most fintech funds, most venture capital funds, don’t have exposure to it.”
VanEck Ventures has already invested in four startups, which have not yet been announced. The fund aims to make investments ranging from $500,000 to $1 million in 25 to 35 companies and plans to make investments over the next four to five years.
“We look forward to supporting the founders of what we believe are some of the most innovative companies in fintech – those building the future of finance,” said Jan Van Eck, CEO of VanEck.