VanEck, an investment firm with more than $82 billion in assets under management, revealed its entry into the metaverse by launching a collection of 1,000 non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on Monday.
The VanEck Community NF, which is based on the Ethereum network, features an illustration of Alexander Hamilton called “Hammy” as he travels through time and space in his quest to understand financial politics past, present and future. The New York-based manager believes she will be able to showcase the real-world utility of digital assets, as well as provide a forum for investors to learn more about digital assets through the collection. A statement about the ad reads:
“Our character ‘Hammy’ is going to be an exceptional guide for anyone interested in seeing how the past, present and future of finance unfolds.”
The pieces will be classified as common (750), rare (230), and legendary (20). Each owner of an NFT will be able to benefit from various exclusive advantages based on these three levels. VanEck Community NFT co-founder Matt Barlett said the initiative is designed to be a digital membership card that will grant one-time access to a variety of events and educate users about crypto assets.
It’s here! Launching today, the VanEck Community NFT, the first #NFT offered by a global asset manager. Follow @vanecknft for updates: https://t.co/6Nw7uUqm1i pic.twitter.com/wG5YBdIcz4
— VanEck (@vaneck_us) May 2, 2022
The development comes less than three weeks after Jan van Eck, CEO of VanEck, expressed his enthusiasm for “the whole NFT phenomenon.” He reportedly stated that Blockchain technology would revolutionize Wall Street, and that regulatory hurdles were behind the delay in adoption.
VanEck has launched several crypto-focused offerings. Last year, the asset manager made headlines when the SEC rejected her request to create the first Bitcoin (BTC) spot exchange-traded fund (ETF). However, in November, she launched her Bitcoin Strategy ETF, the first US market Bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund.
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