Investment firm VanEck has committed to allocating 5% of the potential profits from their proposed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) to support Bitcoin core developers at Brink. Their intention is to provide sustained backing for Bitcoin developers over a decade using proceeds from the potential ETF’s profits.
VanEck has initiated its support by donating an initial sum of $10,000 to Brink, an organization established in 2020 to advance the Bitcoin protocol through research, development, and backing the Bitcoin developer community.
Brink operates a fellowship program aimed at introducing new software engineers to Bitcoin development and extends grants to existing Bitcoin developers. In 2023, it received a substantial $5 million grant from Jack Dorsey’s Smart Small funding initiative. Additionally, billionaire investor Tim Draper contributed $150,000 in December 2023 to further support Bitcoin developers.
If VanEck’s spot Bitcoin ETF, among the 12 other ETF applicants, gets regulatory approval, it will mark the first listing of such an ETF in the United States. The approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF would represent a significant milestone for the cryptocurrency industry, providing investors with a regulated and accessible means to invest in Bitcoin.
