On Friday, Bitcoin’s long-term structure faced renewed examination when Jan Van Eck, the CEO of VanEck, expressed concerns about the network’s encryption and privacy capabilities. He shared these insights during an appearance on CNBC’s “Power Lunch” alongside anchor Brian Sullivan.
Van Eck pointed out that the issues gaining traction within the Bitcoin community extend beyond the usual market fluctuations. “There’s something else happening in the Bitcoin community that those not into crypto should be aware of,” he remarked.
He mentioned that VanEck assesses Bitcoin’s resilience similarly to how it evaluates traditional assets. “VanEck has been around before Bitcoin existed. If we believed the theory had fundamental flaws, we would distance ourselves from Bitcoin. Not immediately, but we constantly need to evaluate the foundational technology and cryptocurrencies,” he noted.
While he didn’t specify what he meant by “Bitcoin theory,” his comments highlighted concerns regarding the underlying aspects that impact Bitcoin’s long-term sustainable future—such as its cryptographic robustness, the network’s adaptability to advancements in quantum computing, and whether its privacy features align with users’ expectations. He posed critical questions about whether Bitcoin indeed has “sufficient encryption” and “adequate privacy,” which are currently pivotal discussions for some in the Bitcoin community.
Additionally, Van Eck noted that veteran Bitcoin enthusiasts and so-called extremists are starting to explore Zcash, which he described as “a more private alternative to Bitcoin.” He argued that Bitcoin’s transparent ledger might clash with rising demands for transaction confidentiality. “When you transfer money on the Bitcoin blockchain, you can literally track it from one wallet to another,” he explained.
Following the interview, Van Eck shared a summary on social media, reiterating portfolio manager Pranav Kanade’s principle of “dollar-cost averaging during a bear market.”
During the CNBC segment, Bitcoin was trading at approximately $84,643. By 9:15 a.m. UTC on Sunday, November 23, its price had risen to $86,204, reflecting a 2.4% increase in the last 24 hours but still down 7.7% for the year, sitting 31.6% lower than its all-time peak of $126,080 reached on October 6, 2025.
Industry Response
Others in the broader cryptocurrency sphere mirrored Van Eck’s apprehensions. During a presentation at the Devconnect Conference in Argentina on November 17, Ethereum co-creator Vitalik Buterin cautioned about the risks quantum computing poses to elliptic curve cryptography, indicating that “elliptic curves will vanish.”
Furthermore, on November 13, quantum computing researcher Scott Aaronson, a professor of computer science at the University of Texas at Austin, pointed out in a blog post that with today’s rapid advancements, it’s “highly probable” that a fault-tolerant quantum computer capable of executing Scholl’s algorithm might be developed before the next U.S. presidential election in 2028.
Some responses to Van Eck’s remarks were quite pointed. For instance, Samson Mo, CEO of JAN3 and an early supporter of Bitcoin, dismissed the notion that Bitcoin enthusiasts are abandoning it for privacy-focused alternatives. He remarked in a post, “Even if they were standing before you, they wouldn’t identify as Bitcoin Maxis. You shouldn’t speak on Bitcoin matters if you’re not in that circle.”
The value of Zcash’s ZEC token has surged amid these privacy discussions. Currently, ZEC holds the position of the 13th most valuable cryptocurrency, boasting a market capitalization of $9.43 billion, with recent trading at $578.35. This marks a 17.3% increase over the last day, a 121.3% rise over 30 days, and an astounding 930% increase year-to-date from about $55.06 on September 24.
Overall, Van Eck’s insights, together with ongoing debates about cryptography, privacy, and quantum readiness, indicate that the conversation surrounding Bitcoin’s long-term framework is likely to gain momentum as the market approaches 2026 and traders reconsider the implications of the upcoming halving amidst the current economic landscape.
