Morning Minute: VanEck Leans Into 'Degen' Culture with New ETF

Tyler Warner

Thu, December 11, 2025 astatine 7:18 AM CST 6 min read

Morning Minute is simply a regular newsletter written by Tyler Warner. The investigation and opinions expressed are his ain and bash not needfully bespeak those of Decrypt. Subscribe to the Morning Minute on Substack.

GM!

Today’s apical news:

• Crypto majors tumble aft Powell cuts the rate; BTC -2% astatine $90,250

• Democrats judge information of Market Structure bill, nonstop 3-page counter

• VanEck leans into Degen civilization with caller Degen Economy ETF

• Meteora announces $10M successful MET token buybacks, volition continue

• Fogo shares ICO valuation astatine $1B, selling 2%

Wall Street is nary longer dancing astir “degen” culture.

They’re embracing it.

VanEck is officially converting its Gaming ETF into the VanEck Degen Economy ETF, a first-of-its-kind merchandise tracking the companies powering integer trading, gig work, betting and casinos.

The caller VanEck Degen Economy ETF volition motorboat successful April 2026.

The ETF volition clasp nationalist companies whose concern models reflector the halfway behaviors of online degen culture.

Under the filing, to beryllium eligible for inclusion, companies indispensable make astatine slightest 50% of gross from 1 oregon much of these sectors:

• Millennial Finance: digital brokerage platforms, integer plus exchanges, neobanks, user recognition scoring services, and BNPL and physics outgo providers

• Gig Economy & Online Forums: ride-hailing, nutrient & market delivery, online forums, freelance marketplaces and peer-to-peer platforms

• Digital Gambling, Betting & Gaming: online gambling platforms, iGaming software, integer lottery & casino operators, video-game developers and sports information & analytics providers

It’s fundamentally an ETF built astir Robinhood civilization crossed with Uber + DoorDash and DraftKings - each wrapped into 1 index.

“Van Eck is renaming its Gaming ETF ‘Degen Economy’ and switching to way a ‘Degen Economy’ index. To my knowledge, it volition beryllium the archetypal money oregon ETF with ‘Degen’ successful the name.” - Jeffrey Park, Morningstar Research Services

It’s undeniable that this “degen economy” has been a existent inclination post-covid.

The question is - does it marque consciousness to put successful this inclination present going into 2026?

In fact, there’s a increasing inclination online “short degen” of folks who privation thing to bash with wide aspects of this peculiar sector.

But that’s astatine nonstop likelihood of large trends similar hypergamblification, an automated gig system (Waymos that present nutrient too) and the proliferation of everything apps (i.e. Robinhood).

The bull lawsuit for the Degen ETF:

• It reflects existent shifts successful user behavior. Younger generations are choosing mobile-first finance, onchain markets, gig work, and integer betting

• It captures fast-growing sectors. Exchanges, neobanks, sports betting, gaming and gig markets are immoderate of the highest-growth segments of the modern economy

• It brings a taste communicative into regulated finance. The degen inclination is 1 that astir adults cognize and are good alert of and it’s an easy-to-understand concern thesis.