VanEck Merk Gold ETF

None.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AS OF JANUARY 31, 2024

INDEX

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Sponsor, Trustee, and Shareholders of VanEck Merk Gold ETF

Opinions on the Financial Statements and Internal Control over Financial Reporting

We have audited the accompanying statements of assets and liabilities, including the schedules of investment, of VanEck Merk Gold ETF (formerly, VanEck Merk Gold Trust, the “Trust”) as of January 31, 2025 and 2024, and the related statements of operations and changes in net assets for each of the years in the three-year period ended January 31, 2025, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). We have also audited the Trust’s internal control over financial reporting as of January 31, 2025, based on criteria established inInternal Control—Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO).

In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Trust as of January 31, 2025 and 2024, and the results of its operations and changes in its net assets for each of the years in the three-year period ended January 31, 2025, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Also, in our opinion, the Trust maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of January 31, 2025, based on criteria established in*Internal Control—Integrated Framework (2013)*issued by COSO.

Basis for Opinions

The Trust’s management is responsible for these financial statements, for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting included in the accompanyingManagement’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Trust’s financial statements and an opinion on the Trust’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Trust in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud, and whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.

Our audits of the financial statements included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.

Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Critical Audit Matters

Critical audit matters are matters arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to those charged with governance and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. We determined that there are no critical audit matters.

We have served as the VanEck Merk Gold ETF’s auditor since 2023.

COHEN & COMPANY, LTD.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

March 28, 2025