# Matthew Van Niekerk

> Matthew Van Niekerk is the Canadian-born co-founder and President of SettleMint, based in Leuven, Belgium. After an economics education, seven years in Tokyo and an MBA at Vlerick, he worked in operations and platform innovation at KBC before co-founding SettleMint with Roderik van der Veer in 2016. His work focuses on making blockchain and digital asset infrastructure usable by enterprises and regulated financial institutions. He also co-founded DataBroker DAO, writes about blockchain adoption, interviews financial technology leaders and mentors entrepreneurs.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & President at SettleMint
- **Organizations:** SettleMint, DataBroker DAO, KBC, KBC Consumer Finance, KBC Securities Bolero, Bolero Crowdfunding, Start it KBC
- **Nationality:** Canadian; Dutch citizen by birthright (self-described)
- **Education:** BA (Honours), Economics, Western University, International MBA, International Business Management, Vlerick Business School
- **Known for:** Co-founded SettleMint in 2016 and led it as CEO before becoming President., Helped develop Bolero Crowdfunding’s blockchain application at KBC; described in his published professional biography as the first publicly available blockchain application launched by a European bank/broker., SettleMint secured a €16 million Series A in October 2022.

## Career timeline

- **2000** — Left Canada after university; spent approximately seven years in Tokyo working in foreign-exchange brokerage and online retail.
- **2003** — Started an online retail business in Japan selling difficult-to-source snowboarding goods.
- **2006** — Moved to Belgium to pursue an MBA at Vlerick.
- **2007-2010** — Worked as an internal management consultant at KBC.
- **2010-2012** — Worked as a Lean Navigator at KBC.
- **2012-2013** — COO of KBC Consumer Finance Belgium.
- **2013-2016** — Head of Platform Innovation & Development at KBC Securities Bolero.
- **2014** — Began working with blockchain technology at the bank; also led innovation for Bolero Crowdfunding.
- **2015** — Decided to start a blockchain company during a visit to New York for Consensus and to the ConsenSys office in Brooklyn.
- **2016** — Co-founded SettleMint with Roderik van der Veer; also co-founded DataBroker DAO.
- **2017** — DataBroker DAO demonstrated its sensor-data marketplace publicly in London in January and joined the Sigfox Partner Network in September.
- **2022** — SettleMint announced a €16 million Series A co-led by Molten Ventures and OTB Ventures.
- **2023** — Authored the Operational Guide to Blockchain Transformation for Banking and Financial Services; spoke about startup strategy at IIT Kharagpur.
- **2025** — Became President of SettleMint according to his professional-profile history.
- **2026** — As Co-Founder & President, marked SettleMint’s tenth anniversary alongside CEO Adam Popat and CTO Roderik van der Veer.

## Achievements

- Co-founded SettleMint in 2016 and led it as CEO before becoming President.
- Helped develop Bolero Crowdfunding’s blockchain application at KBC; described in his published professional biography as the first publicly available blockchain application launched by a European bank/broker.
- SettleMint secured a €16 million Series A in October 2022.
- Co-founded DataBroker DAO, a marketplace intended to connect IoT sensor-data owners with buyers.
- Authored the 2023 Operational Guide to Blockchain Transformation for Banking and Financial Services.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Co-authored A Decade Delivering Digital Assets with Roderik van der Veer, published September 4, outlining a focus on digital asset lifecycle management.
- **2026-09** — Joined CEO Adam Popat and CTO Roderik van der Veer for a tenth-anniversary interview with Rachel Pether, published September 22.
- **2025-02** — Published a Chief Digital Heroes interview with Nick Philpott, co-founder and Head of Partnerships at Zodia Markets.
- **2025-01** — Published a Chief Digital Heroes interview with Giovanni Everduin, Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer at Commercial Bank International.

## Links

- Website: https://www.settlemint.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ceosettlemint/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/matthew-van-niekerk
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-12