VanEck CEO believes blockchain has the potential to completely transform Wall Street

• The VanEck executive also praised the NFT phenomenon and said that he’s wowed by the technology.
• Jan Van Eck is critical of the U.S. SEC for its non-accommodative stand but praises European lawmakers for their crypto-friendly stand.

Industry leaders from the blockchain and the crypto space shared their vision while speaking at the Bitcoin 2022 Conference in Miami. Jan van Eck, the chief executive of the VanEck fund spoke about his trust in blockchain technology and how it can revolutionize traditional markets like Wall Street.

The VanEck executive believes that blockchain has the potential to “completely” reshape the operations of some of the leading financial institutions. However, he also strikes a tone of regulatory caution on this matter. Interestingly, Jan Van Eck also touched upon the rapidly emerging world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) calling it a “phenomenon”. The VanEck executive said:

It looks like blockchain technology will completely revolutionize Wall Street. The only reason it’s taking so long would be the regulators. The whole NFT phenomenon, I mean, I’m wowed by all the technology. That’s positive.

 VanEck, Bitcoin, and regulators

VanEck has been one of the early participants in the crypto market along with other financial giants. It had also applied for the approval of the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), however, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) halted its application citing concerns for investor protection.

The securities regulator argued that VanEck was unable to cope up with issues “designated to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices”. Jan Van Eck  said that he was completely disappointed with the SEC’s decision. Furthermore, he believes that the U.S. SEC is unlikely to change its stand in the near future. He said:

The regulators have made their mind up. They don’t want to know until jurisdiction is clarified. Nothing happened last year – zero – aside from enforcement action. And nothing is going to happen this year. And I bet nothing happens next year. I mean, at this pace, nothing is gathering velocity.

However, VanEck still remain positive about Bitcoin. Recently, its analysts stated that Bitcoin (BTC) price can reach $1.3 million in extreme fiscal situation.

VanEck executive praises Europe

The VanEck executive praised European lawmakers for their crypto-friendly stand on digital assets. He also believes that having such an approach will give the industry a boost. However, Jan Van Eck points out the United Kingdom as an exception wherein he says authorities aren’t in favor of digital assets. He added:

Germany is crypto-friendly. Switzerland. The continent, amazingly, is very crypto-friendly. The UK. It’s, you know, it’s kind of black or white. It’s very negative.

The U.K’s FCA also has a very critical and stricter approach to digital assets. Due to this, many homegrown crypto startups have thus considered moving to other parts of the world.

However, U.K’s Finance Minister Rishi Sunak recently shared a roadmap with a goal of becoming the crypto hub of the world.

Read More: U.K. prepares roadmap to become global crypto hub, will mints its NFT this summer