VanEck, one of the largest investment management firms, has pioneered multiple investment products and trends that have transformed the world of finance, including the first U.S. gold stock fund in 1968. This year, VanEck has ventured into crypto, and is launching a $30 million fund to support early-stage Crypto, AI and FinTech start-ups.
The fund is called VanEck Ventures and will be led by Wyatt Lonergan and Juan Lopez. The two are seasoned investors who previously headed Circle Ventures, the venture arm of USDC-issuer Circle. Sticking to their roots, they say their FinTech fund lies at the intersection of crypto and artificial intelligence, with a specific emphasis on stablecoins.
“We think stablecoins are what inevitably gets us to sort of this next iteration of really driving down on the initial reason why the industry was so excited about blockchains,” Juan Lopez said. “But, it helps us bring it down to the ground in a way that a market participant, whether it's a consumer or business, doesn't need to sacrifice their sort of local currency to get the benefits of what blockchains are delivering today.”
Lonergan added that he sees stablecoins as the ChatGPT of crypto.
The fund is looking for what they describe as product-obsessed founders with “a huge chip on their shoulders from the past” and are looking to solve a problem in the fund’s niche category, Lopez said.
Lonergan says it is a bullish time for FinTech startups, in part because of Lummis-Gillibrand Payment Stablecoin Act, a bill that seeks to provide a clear regulatory framework for payment stablecoins. Crypto proponents are hoping the bill will be passed during the upcoming lame-duck session in Congress, though others are skeptical.
“We think it's going to lead to this kind of Cambrian explosion of FinTech products built on blockchain over the next five to 10 years,” Lonergan said. “It's hard to ignore something that's settling $24 trillion a year and yet, most FinTech funds, most venture capital funds, have no exposure to it.”
VanEck Ventures has already invested in four start-ups, which have yet to be announced. The fund is aiming to make $500,000 to $1 million investments in 25 to 35 companies and plan to make investments over the next four to five years.
“We look forward to supporting founders of what we believe are some of the most disruptive companies in fintech—those building the future of finance,” Jan van Eck, CEO of VanEck, said.
