VanEck CEO: Cryptocurrency Industry Should Focus on Improving On-Chain Fees, Not ETF Approval

VanEck CEO Jan van Eck pointed out in an interview with CoinDesk that the cryptocurrency industry should focus more on on-chain transaction fees rather than being overly concerned with the issuance of ETFs related to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the like.

Focus on High On-Chain Fees, Not Crypto ETFs

Jan van Eck pointed out that the on-chain transaction fees for Bitcoin and Ethereum are unpredictable, making it more difficult to establish practical applications within the ecosystem.

If you look at the on-chain transaction fees for Bitcoin and Ethereum, nobody would want to use these databases to build any applications, right? Let me give an example to non-crypto people: "Would you want to pay $50 for gas one week, and suddenly it becomes $600 next week?" Essentially, Ethereum's expensive Gas is like that.

Bullish on Development of On-Chain Applications

Jan van Eck believes that stabilizing on-chain fees was the most important thing last year, but the focus seems to have been confused by the issuance of Bitcoin ETFs. The good news is that affordable transaction fees can now be obtained through Solana or L2.

He stated:

For me, the most interesting thing in the crypto space right now is that we have scalable databases that can accommodate a large number of users, maintain high uptime, and now have predictable costs. So, we are now at a stage where practical applications can be built on these databases, and I expect practical applications to become more prominent in the coming years.

The VanEck analysis team recently issued a report, very optimistic about the future development of L2:

VanEck Analysts: Ethereum L2 to Reach $1 Trillion Market Cap by 2030, Who Will Be the Winner?

Jan van Eck also mentioned his pessimistic view on the Ethereum spot ETF, believing that it is unlikely to be approved before the May deadline. Compared to Bitcoin ETFs, the SEC has not responded to applications for Ethereum spot ETF issuers.

He said:

We have filed the S1 document, but have not received any feedback. This means that "the issuer is not ready to disclose the document, and the Ethereum ETF will not be approved."

Approval of Ethereum ETF in Doubt, Issuers VanEck, CoinShares Also Lack Confidence