VanEck CEO says Bitcoin to match half of gold’s market cap at $300K per unit

Speaking to CNBC, Van Eck said that Bitcoin would continue smashing record highs and ultimately trade at $300K, reaching half of gold’s market cap. The CEO of VanEck claimed his forecast was a “reasonable base assumption” but gave no further support for his theory. 

According to CoinGecko’s data, Bitcoin broke above 77K to record another ATH before falling back to the 76K range. Van Eck also said that individual investors were currently piling up into Bitcoin ETFs. A recent report by JPMorgan analysts also supported Van Eck’s supposition, claiming that the bullish Bitcoin ETF trend would continue into 2025. 

Bitcoin could become the next ‘digital gold’ as a store of value

While VanEck’s CEO did not have the maximalist view of a scenario where Bitcoin replaced gold entirely, he thought of Bitcoin as a store of value, just like gold. He added that there were others who forecasted that Bitcoin could eventually supplant gold as the best store of value. The Van Eck CEO, however, hoped that the recent surge in Bitcoin’s popularity would bring bipartisan support in the U.S. government under Trump’s administration. He claimed this would further cement Bitcoin as an asset class worth investing in for continued growth. Bitcoin has been up nearly 15% (+$10K) since Trump’s win on November 5th, according to CoinGecko’s data. 

The CEO of VanEck’s comments proved his broader belief in the potential of blockchain technology. He pointed out that crypto-related stocks like Coinbase and meme coins such as Dogecoin were gaining momentum, although there was a preference for established digital assets like Bitcoin with strong use cases. The VanEck boss said that Bitcoin’s significant gains this year would partly be driven by the interest of individual investors.

“Bitcoin is sort of a digital gold for me, at its a store of value asset”

~ Jan Van Eck , CEO of VanEck

While individuals like MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor were bullish about Bitcoin and considered it a store of value, skeptics like economist Peter Schiff scoffed at the idea of Bitcoin becoming ‘digital gold.’

BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF surpasses its Gold ETF

According to data from DeFiLlama and Farside, BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF IBIT, the largest by market cap, has been witnessing increased trading and inflow volumes since Trump’s reelection. Recent performance data from BlackRock also showed that IBIT was doing far better than its iShares Gold ETF. 

The data showed that IBIT’s value had appreciated over the last few months, reaching a six-month high in October and continuing on a strong uptrend. DeFiLlama’s data showed that the upward trend significantly accelerated after Trump’s win. According to Farside data, Bitcoin ETFs led by IBIT recorded single-day inflow highs in the wake of his re-election. 

BlackRock’s CEO, Larry Fink , also considered Bitcoin an alternative to gold because he believed it was an asset class by itself. He added that Bitcoin’s utility could be expanded if more acceptability, transparency, and related analytics were created.