Featured on Ethereum Market Research Center

ETH outperformance expected | Standard Chartered

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 01:57:00 +0000

The outlook for Ethereum has evolved since August 2025. In absolute USD terms, weaker-than-expected Bitcoin performance has weighed on the broader digital asset complex, reflecting Bitcoin’s continued dominance as the sector’s macro barometer. As a result, near-term ETH-USD forecasts for 2026–2028 have been revised downward to reflect a softer backdrop and reduced momentum across crypto markets.

However, Ethereum’s relative positioning has strengthened. While Bitcoin’s performance has constrained headline valuations, Ethereum-specific fundamentals and structural drivers have improved. These include expanding network usage, maturing staking dynamics, stronger Layer-2 activity, and growing institutional engagement. On a cross basis, ETH-BTC is expected to gradually retrace toward its 2021 highs, signaling renewed relative outperformance versus Bitcoin.

Unpacking the State of Ethereum in South Korea

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 22:41:11 +0000

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Ethereum’s development, usage patterns, and regulatory environment in South Korea as of 2025. Despite having one of the world’s most active retail crypto markets—with roughly 25% of adults holding digital assets—South Korea’s Ethereum market is dominated by centralized exchanges such as Upbit and Bithumb, which together account for more than 95% of trading volume. Onchain activity remains limited due to restrictive regulations, whitelist-style compliance requirements, and a cultural preference for short-term speculative trading. Most ETH holders access staking and DeFi indirectly through CEXs rather than interacting directly with Ethereum’s onchain economy.

The Future of Financial Infrastructure: Ethereum’s Layer 2 Landscape

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 22:18:38 +0000

The report offers a broad assessment of the upgradeability and management practices across current Layer-2 (L2) blockchain systems. As the ecosystem has expanded in both quantity and architectural diversity, the paper highlights that virtually all live L2s now support some form of upgrade mechanism—either by updating code or adjusting system parameters. This flexibility is essential, both for operators (e.g., rolling out optimizations, bug fixes) and users (ensuring reliability and security over time).

The Institutional Layer of Ethereum: Obol Thesis

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 19:37:52 +0000

Ethereum now serves as the financial backbone of the Internet.

Over $230 billion in tokenized assets, stablecoins, and DeFi collateral move through its network. Leading financial institutions — from Wall Street to global asset managers — are not only building on Ethereum but increasingly holding ETH as a productive, yield-generating asset within their treasuries.

This emerging trend, which we describe as the rise of Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs), reflects a strategic shift: both public and private entities are accumulating high-quality digital assets like ETH to stake and earn native yield. These organizations view ETH less as a speculative token and more as core digital infrastructure. Their returns come from securing the network itself, not from leverage or counterparty risk.

The $50 Billion Cascade: Staking-Enabled ETFs and Corporate Treasuries

Fri, 24 Oct 2025 20:28:12 +0000

This report examines the systemic impact of a potential $50 billion-plus inflow into staking via institutional mechanisms—specifically staking-enabled ETFs and corporate treasuries. It argues that this tidal wave of capital, if realised, will transform network dynamics and reshape how digital-asset infrastructure is understood and used by major institutions.

Key drivers include the rise of spot and staking-enabled crypto ETFs, the growing accumulation of digital assets by corporate treasuries, and the resulting pressure on validator capacity, staking yields, and protocol governance frameworks. The report shows how these flows will not only affect token supply and staking incentives, but also introduce new centralisation and market-structure risks if not managed carefully.

Institutions Embrace Distributed Validators as Ethereum Marks 10th Birthday

Thu, 09 Oct 2025 21:25:41 +0000

In Q3 2025, Obol achieved a series of pivotal milestones that underscore its growing influence in Ethereum’s staking ecosystem. Chief among these, the protocol’s Total Value Staked (TVS) exceeded $3.2 billion, a 128% increase from Q2, with over 700,000 ETH (1.98% of staked ETH) under Obol Distributed Validator control.

This quarter saw notable institutional traction. Distributed Validators were adopted by major staking operators and integrated into Lido’s Curated Module by Stakely, Pier Two, and Blockdaemon — signaling maturation and alignment between DeFi infrastructure and advanced staking techniques. Obol also earned recognition within Blockworks’ Token Transparency Framework, achieving a 95% score, underlining its commitment to operational rigor and governance standards.

Realized Store of Value (RSOV): Measuring the Monetary Base of L1’s

Sun, 05 Oct 2025 00:12:12 +0000

Jamie Coutts introduces the Realized Store of Value (RSOV) framework as a new way to value Layer 1 (L1) blockchain tokens—not as tech equities based on fees, but as monetary assets whose strength comes from committed savings. Traditional valuation models (Metcalfe’s Law, Stock-to-Flow, or fee-based revenue) fail because they ignore circularity and volatility. RSOV measures the realized capital locked in staking and DeFi collateral, grounding valuation in actual committed funds rather than speculative flows.

Ethereum Staking in 2025 and Beyond – Institutional Staking Survey Results

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 18:48:22 +0000

Obol Collective collaborated with Lido Finance and Kaiko Data to survey the biggest players in Ethereum staking.

Participants included some of the industry’s top staking custodians, node operators, fund managers, and ETF issuers. These entities are sophisticated operators with significant staked ETH holdings ranging from <$250M up to the $10-50B range.

Their responses led to four key takeaways:

1. Major players put security and regulatory concerns first.
2. DVs are emerging as Ethereum’s endgame staking infrastructure.
3. Institutions are set for staked ETH ETFs.
4. Institutional staking will help ETH win.

Q&A with Danny Ryan on The Race To Rewire Wall Street with Ethereum

Fri, 26 Sep 2025 01:36:46 +0000

The Forbes piece written in a Q&A style argues Wall Street’s legacy financial systems are inefficient, with slow settlement and costly intermediaries. A startup called Etherealize—supported by Vitalik Buterin, Electric Capital, and Paradigm—aims to rebuild finance on Ethereum. Its co-founder Danny Ryan contends Ethereum’s combination of cryptoeconomic security, network neutrality, modular architecture (via Layer-2 rollups), and zero-knowledge privacy tools uniquely suit institutional needs. While critics point to Ethereum’s speed and cost, Ryan emphasizes security is scarce, and financial institutions must trust math, not centralized guarantees. In his view, Ethereum may not be the fastest, but it could be Wall Street’s safest bet.

Wall Street Needs a Blockchain. That Blockchain Is Ethereum.

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 17:19:07 +0000

Global finance is at a historic inflection point: legacy systems, built for paper-based processes, cannot keep pace with today’s 24/7 digital economy. Cross-border payments, securities settlement, and reconciliation introduce trillions in hidden costs through delays, trapped capital, and inefficiencies. Blockchain technology—specifically Ethereum—offers the optimal solution for next-generation financial infrastructure.

Ethereum enables real-time settlement, programmable compliance, and tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs), unlocking liquidity and transforming previously static instruments into dynamic, composable assets. Institutions such as BlackRock, Fidelity, JPMorgan, and Apollo have already launched production-scale systems on Ethereum, demonstrating the shift from experimentation to adoption. Tokenized treasuries alone now exceed $5 billion in value, while stablecoin volumes on Ethereum surpass $150 billion.

L1 Validators vs. Ethereum L2’s: Cost Comparison for Chain Operators

Fri, 12 Sep 2025 20:24:03 +0000

This report compares the operational on-chain costs of launching an alternative Layer-1 (“alt-L1”) blockchain versus building an Ethereum Layer-2 (L2) with respect to validator rewards, data availability (DA), and zero-knowledge (ZK) proof costs. Alt-L1s support security via decentralized validators: they incur costs through token issuance and sharing transaction fees or MEV. These validator expenditures vary greatly depending on the chain’s token model and price. L2s, in contrast, inherit Ethereum’s settlement security; their major on-chain expense is paying for data posted to Ethereum (data availability) plus, if using ZK rollups, additional proof generation costs.

Resurgent Ethereum Could See Demand Outstrip Supply

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 18:55:00 +0000

Ethereum’s 10th anniversary has rekindled optimism around the network after a long adjustment phase. Confidence is returning as Ether (ETH) has rallied sharply, reaching new highs in August and outperforming Bitcoin. Many see this momentum as a possible spark for a broader altcoin cycle, with Ethereum leading the way.

A key driver has been the Prague + Electra (Pectra) upgrades, which eased technical bottlenecks and expanded staking capacity from 32 to 2048 ETH. Coupled with recent SEC guidance clarifying protocol staking, expectations have grown that staking could soon be integrated into Ethereum ETF structures.

The State of Onchain Yield: From Stablecoins to DeFi and Beyond

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 17:35:13 +0000

In “The State of Onchain Yield,” Galaxy maps out the evolving landscape of DeFi yield, assessing various yield-generating strategies across stablecoins, staking, restaking, lending, and structured products. It presents a ladder of yield, from zero-return safe assets to more engineered, higher-risk yield streams.

Starting with stablecoins: non-yield-bearing centralized and decentralized dollar-pegged tokens produce no native income for holders. Platform-dependent yield stablecoins share issuer or reserve income only when held in specific custodial venues. There is a large opportunity cost to this zero-yield baseline.

Kaiko Blockchain Ecosystem Ranking Q2 2025 Report

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 15:11:18 +0000

Kaiko’s Blockchain Ecosystem Ranking evaluates 15 major networks through a proprietary framework that blends both quantitative metrics and qualitative assessments. The methodology incorporates data sources such as on-chain activity, developer contributions, DeFi usage, regulatory disclosures, institutional involvement, and measures of network security. The goal is to provide a comprehensive view of blockchain ecosystems for diverse applications—ranging from the creation of financial products to the development of decentralized applications—helping stakeholders make more informed choices.

Ethereum (ETH): Overview and Potential Use Cases

Mon, 25 Aug 2025 00:40:58 +0000

Ethereum was introduced in 2013 through the vision of Vitalik Buterin and a group of seven co-founders who sought to extend the pioneering work of Bitcoin. While Bitcoin had established itself as the first decentralized, peer-to-peer digital money system, Ethereum’s founders aspired to build something more versatile—a blockchain that could be programmed to support applications beyond payments. More than a decade later, Ethereum has grown into the dominant smart contract platform and the world’s second largest digital asset by market capitalization.

Weekly: Fed, ETH and new stablecoin L1s

Sat, 16 Aug 2025 01:23:06 +0000

ETH continues to lead while signs points to an altseason. ETH breaks to 2021 highs as top DATs add >2% supply alongside $2.27B in spot ETF inflows; Q2 13F patterns imply retail-led demand despite more institutional holders; BTC dominance down ~9% since July validates rotation, while Circle’s Arc and Stripe’s Tempo L1s target stablecoin rails where lasting share will be won by utility and cost advantage—not branding.

Read report | Coinbase Research

Ethereum: Building the World Ledger

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 01:15:52 +0000

Since launching in 2015, Ethereum has evolved from an early blockchain experiment into the leading smart contract network powering a vast digital economy. Over the past decade, it has been the foundation for entirely new industries—decentralized finance (DeFi), NFTs, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs)—cementing its role as a core layer of infrastructure for global financial activity. This groundwork has paved the way for the next phase of large-scale adoption and technical scaling, with the potential for Ethereum to become, in Vitalik Buterin’s words, “a really valuable part of global infrastructure that helps make the internet and the economy a more free and open place.”

VanEck Crypto Monthly Recap for July 2025

Tue, 05 Aug 2025 17:43:33 +0000

July marked a pivotal turning point for digital assets in the U.S., as a coordinated regulatory push signaled a decisive shift toward embracing blockchain innovation within traditional finance. A suite of major developments—most notably the passage of the GENIUS and CLARITY Acts—catalyzed momentum for clearer crypto policy. The SEC’s approval of in-kind transactions for spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs, alongside its launch of “Project Crypto,” represents a historic regulatory recalibration that aligns tokenization and crypto infrastructure with the broader financial system. Meanwhile, the White House’s comprehensive digital asset report and proposed generic ETP standards from major exchanges further indicated a unified institutional appetite to accelerate market access. Ethereum was the standout beneficiary of this evolving landscape. ETH rallied 50% over the month, buoyed by $4.7 billion in inflows and its growing role as the backbone for stablecoin issuance and real-world asset tokenization. Activity surged across Ethereum and Layer 2s like Arbitrum, with brokerages and exchanges piloting tokenized equities and funds, reflecting the migration of traditional financial instruments onto public blockchains. Altogether, July reflected a new regulatory-institutional alignment, narrowing the gap between crypto and traditional capital markets and positioning Ethereum at the center of this convergence.

July 2025: Ethereum Comes Alive

Fri, 01 Aug 2025 16:48:38 +0000

Ethereum surged nearly 50% in July 2025, driven by renewed investor interest in stablecoins, tokenized assets, and institutional use cases — areas where the leading smart contract network continues to distinguish itself.

The approval of the GENIUS Act marked a pivotal turning point for the stablecoin sector and the broader crypto market. While comprehensive legislation around market infrastructure is still working its way through Congress, regulatory agencies can move forward independently by advancing initiatives like permitting staking within regulated crypto investment vehicles.

Bitcoin Needs Its Queen: ETH’s Evolution into a Scarce, Productive, and Institutional Reserve Asset

Thu, 24 Jul 2025 10:02:54 +0000

Why ETH Is the Reserve Asset of the Onchain Economy.

Ethereum is rapidly evolving from a misunderstood digital asset into a scarce, programmable reserve that underpins an increasingly institutionalized on-chain economy.

Its unique monetary design projects long-term scarcity: even under maximum staking conditions, ETH’s annual inflation remains capped around 1.52%, with projections trending toward 0.89% by the year 2125. This places it well below the historical U.S. M2 money supply growth rate of 6.36%, and even more conservative than gold’s supply expansion—making ETH a compelling store-of-value candidate.

Why Ethereum is Roaring

Wed, 23 Jul 2025 09:56:21 +0000

Ben Lilly explains that Ethereum soared recently due to a major, unannounced accumulation of ETH by a publicly traded company—SharpLink Gaming. The Ethereum Foundation sold 10,000 ETH via an OTC transaction on July 11, which typically signals a market peak. But this sale went entirely off exchange to SharpLink, which already held over 176,000 ETH and raised capital to keep growing its treasury—part of a newly emergent trend called Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs).

ETH as a Productive Treasury Asset

Thu, 17 Jul 2025 18:28:49 +0000

As Ethereum approaches its 20-year milestone, it is entering a transformative phase marked by accelerating institutional interest. Now widely regarded as the most decentralized and secure programmable blockchain, Ethereum is becoming the foundational infrastructure for a new financial era. Much like Bitcoin’s ascent as digital gold, ETH is gaining recognition as a scarce, high-utility asset—often described as “digital oil.”

In 2025 alone, more than 1.7 million ETH have been allocated to long-term institutional holdings, a trend that reflects growing confidence in ETH as a core reserve asset. ETH is not just a store of value—it’s a productive digital commodity. With staking, institutions gain access to native yield opportunities that resemble the characteristics of a next-generation internet bond.

Ethereum is Trustware: The Industrialization of Trust

Thu, 17 Jul 2025 12:48:44 +0000

The report presents an investment case for Ethereum (ETH) as a foundational provider of digital trust in the evolving global economy, emphasizing its potential to generate significant economic value through its trustware infrastructure.

Ethereum as the Apex Provider of Trust

Ethereum is evolving into a critical infrastructure for digital trust, termed “Trustware,” which is essential for the digital economy.

Ethereum has grown from a smart contract platform to a global standard for digital trust.
The report projects ETH’s value could reach $4,900 by 2025 and $15,800 by 2028.
The global trust infrastructure costs approximately $9.3 trillion annually, with Ethereum providing equivalent or superior trust guarantees.

The Industrialization of Trust Explained

Beyond Bitcoin: ETH as a Corporate Treasury Asset

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 10:20:46 +0000

Galaxy highlights how four U.S.-listed companies were the first to adopt Ethereum (ETH) reserves on their balance sheets. Following MicroStrategy’s success with Bitcoin, these firms used equity raises to amass ETH holdings, signaling a new wave of corporate treasury diversification.

In particular, SharpLink Gaming (NASDAQ: SBET) stands out. Funded by a $425 million PIPE and additional at-the-market offerings, the company acquired over 215,634 ETH and staked the full amount—earning 322 ETH within its first month. This not only generates yield but also bolsters Ethereum’s network security.

The Ethereum Investment (ETH) Report Q2 2025

Mon, 14 Jul 2025 14:48:23 +0000

A data-only report + dashboards covering ETH and the Ethereum Ecosystem. No noise. No hype. Just fundamentals, core KPIs, and qtr-to-qtr explanation.

Read pdf Report | Link to DeFi Report

Blockchains as Emerging Economies

Wed, 09 Jul 2025 09:14:24 +0000

This report by Fidelity Investments introduces a fundamentals-based framework for evaluating digital assets and constructing portfolios, aimed at asset allocators and financial advisors. Cryptocurrencies are defined as native currencies of blockchain networks, functioning as the primary unit of account and medium of exchange within their respective digital economies. Drawing parallels with traditional macroeconomics, the value of these digital currencies is driven by demand for access to network services and their resilience against theft, network failure, or inflationary policies.

Beyond Stablecoins: The Case for Ethereum

Tue, 08 Jul 2025 08:56:39 +0000

Global demand for U.S. dollars isn’t shrinking—it’s accelerating. Despite the media narrative around de-dollarization, the more impactful trend is the explosive rise in dollar access via stablecoins. Today, over 4 billion people and countless businesses are tapping into digital dollars, marking one of the most significant expansions of the dollar’s global footprint in modern history.

This shift presents a massive opportunity for Ethereum. The stablecoin market has surged more than 60-fold since 2020, now exceeding $200 billion. But holding digital dollars is only the beginning. Users around the world increasingly seek yield, access to investment tools, and broader financial services—needs that traditional financial systems are largely unable to meet due to regulatory and logistical limitations.

Why Ethereum May Still Be the Smartest Play in Digital Assets

Sat, 28 Jun 2025 09:19:03 +0000

Ethereum remains the leading decentralized, permissionless computational layer, with ETH as its native currency. As the birthplace of DeFi, it boasts over $62 billion locked across decentralized finance—over 55% of the total DeFi market—showcasing unparalleled ecosystem strength.

Institutional confidence surged after the US approved spot Ethereum ETFs, positioning ETH alongside mainstream investable assets. It also controls around 59% of the tokenization market, underscoring its dominance across blockchain use cases.

Charting 2025’s landscape, Ethereum has delivered sustained cash flow, growing institutional adoption, and a vibrant app ecosystem—complementing Bitcoin in modern digital portfolios. Key catalysts included the successful “Pectra” upgrade, hedge funds covering short ETH positions, and a $425 million accumulation plan by SharpLink Gaming—triggers for a 40.8% rally in May, the largest monthly gain since November 2024.

The Bull Case for ETH Paper

Fri, 13 Jun 2025 08:51:12 +0000

The global financial landscape is undergoing a historic shift as traditional assets increasingly become digitized and move onto blockchain infrastructure. This transition—from a fragmented, partially digital system to one that is fully digital, interoperable, and composable—necessitates a secure and neutral global settlement layer. Ethereum has emerged as the backbone of this transformation.

Institutional engagement with Ethereum is growing rapidly, fueled by favorable regulatory momentum in the U.S. and a broader acceptance of digital assets within mainstream investment strategies. Just as Bitcoin established itself over 15 years as a sovereign-resistant store of value — now widely acknowledged as digital gold — Ethereum expands that legacy by enabling not just the storage of value, but its seamless movement, programmability, and trustless coordination on a global scale.

The Ethereum Foundation’s Trillion Dollar Security Project

Tue, 10 Jun 2025 18:39:12 +0000

The Trillion Dollar Security (1TS) initiative represents a broad, collaborative push to enhance Ethereum’s overall security. This document marks the project’s inaugural output. Over the past month, we’ve collected insights from a diverse range of stakeholders—users, developers, security professionals, and institutional participants—to better understand the most pressing security challenges and areas needing attention. We’re grateful to the many individuals and organizations who contributed their perspectives.

This report consolidates what we’ve learned across six key domains:

Transforming Global Payments: The Role of Tokenized Money & Funds in Cross-Border Transactions – Visa

Mon, 09 Jun 2025 14:08:50 +0000

Visa began actively exploring asset tokenization in 2021, initiating collaborations with over 40 central banks worldwide, including involvement in Brazil’s Drex Pilot and Singapore’s Global CBDC Challenge. In 2022, Visa was recognized with the “Best Ecosystem” award by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) for its contributions to the Global CBDC Fast Track Programme. Visa also took part in Phase 1 of HKMA’s e-HKD Pilot Programme, working alongside major banks like HSBC and Hang Seng Bank to test the use of tokenized deposits in property transactions and acquirer-merchant settlements. Serving as the technology provider, Visa introduced its Visa Tokenized Asset Platform (VTAP), a suite of APIs that enables financial institutions to mint, burn, and transfer digital tokens across both permissioned and public blockchain networks.

Onchain Value: Stablecoins Now Drive Over ⅓ of DeFi Revenue – Keyrock

Thu, 05 Jun 2025 03:43:39 +0000

Stablecoins have become the financial backbone of DeFi, playing a central role not just in transferring value, but in powering leverage loops, yield strategies, and protocol revenues. This report maps their growing economic impact across leading DeFi protocols and chains. Stablecoin-driven revenue is rebounding sharply—from a low of 4.7% in June 2024 to 30.8% year-to-date—underscoring their resurgence in bull markets, not just bearish ones. Lending protocols remain the dominant recipients of this revenue (15%), though DEXes are narrowing the gap (11%).

Ethereum’s Dominance in the RWA Market: Who’s Next in Line? – Tiger

Wed, 04 Jun 2025 17:40:10 +0000

*Exploring Structural Challenges and the Rise of New Tokenization Platforms
*Ethereum currently leads the real-world asset (RWA) market, thanks to its first-mover advantage, track record of institutional experimentation, deep on-chain liquidity, and decentralized infrastructure. However, newer blockchains—both general-purpose platforms with lower fees and faster throughput, as well as RWA-specialized chains built for compliance—are emerging to address Ethereum’s cost and performance limitations. These challengers are positioning themselves as next-generation infrastructure by emphasizing technical scalability and native regulatory alignment. Ultimately, the next phase of RWA growth will be driven by the platform that can combine regulatory compatibility, a robust service ecosystem tailored to real-world assets, and sustained on-chain liquidity.

Ethereum 2025: Usage, dominance, and role in a portfolio – DAS

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 20:06:00 +0000

Ethereum, often referred to as the “world computer,” has become a fundamental part of the crypto ecosystem since its launch in 2015. With the introduction of smart contracts, the network revolutionized blockchain technology and enabled the development of decentralized applications.

Read PDF report | Digital Asset Solutions Research

Stablecoin Payments from the Ground Up – Artemis, Castle Island Ventures & Dragonfly

Fri, 30 May 2025 03:39:06 +0000

A survey of 20 stablecoin payment companies, supplemented by estimates from 11 more, revealed $94.2 billion in settled payments between January 2023 and February 2025, annualizing at $72.3 billion as of February 2025. B2B payments lead at a $36 billion run rate, followed by P2P ($18 billion), card-linked ($13.2 billion), B2C ($3.3 billion), and prefunding ($2.5 billion), with most sectors showing rapid growth. Tether’s USDT dominates with 90% market share, and Tron is the most used blockchain by volume, followed by Ethereum.

The State of Ethereum – Grayscale

Thu, 29 May 2025 16:46:27 +0000

The potential launch of spot Ethereum ETFs is expected to introduce a wider audience to smart contracts and decentralized applications, highlighting Ethereum’s foundational role in transforming digital commerce. As the largest smart contract platform by market cap and user base, Ethereum is scaling through a modular architecture with growing Layer 2 activity. To stay competitive, it must expand its user base and fee revenue. Grayscale Research estimates that demand for Ethereum ETFs will reach 25–30% of that seen for Bitcoin ETFs, though a large share of ETH—such as staked assets—will likely remain unavailable for ETF inclusion. While Ethereum’s current valuation may limit near-term price upside compared to Bitcoin’s ETF-driven rally in early 2024, the long-term outlook remains strong. Ethereum’s leadership in users, applications, and protocol development positions it to benefit from growing institutional access and continued adoption of decentralized technologies.

The After-Effects of Ethereum’s PECTRA Upgrade – Coin Metrics

Tue, 27 May 2025 03:51:10 +0000

Assessing Pectra’s impact on Ethereum staking and Layer-2 scalability

Author Tanay Ved at Coin Metrics

Since going live on May 7, Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade has delivered meaningful structural improvements, most notably through EIP-7251, which raised the validator max effective balance from 32 to 2,048 ETH, and EIP-7691, which doubled blob space to better support Layer-2 scaling. In the weeks following the upgrade, more than 11,000 validators have consolidated, shrinking the active validator set by approximately 16,000 while keeping total staked ETH stable and increasing the average stake per validator to around 32.4 ETH. Blob activity has risen, with the number of blobs posted to Ethereum growing from about 21,000 to 28,000, although rollup usage still trails the new target capacity of six blobs per block. As blobspace costs have dropped, Layer-2 transaction volumes have climbed, driven by cheaper execution. However, total blob fees remain close to zero, indicating that further fee increases—and full utilization of blobspace—will depend on higher data demand from rollups.

The State of Ethereum Blobs and Blob Market Post-Pectra – Galaxy

Thu, 15 May 2025 03:42:34 +0000

Ethereum’s recent Pectra upgrade, which went live on May 7, 2025, included EIP-7691, increasing the target and maximum blobs per block from 3/6 to 6/9 respectively. This raised the daily blob data capacity from approximately 5.5GB to 8.15GB, impacting the blob market, rollups, and validators. Post-Pectra, daily blob purchases by rollups rose to about 25,600, yet the average blobs per block remain below the new target, making blob costs virtually free for the first time since mid-April 2025. Consequently, the ETH burned from rollup data posting has significantly decreased.

Pectra and Fusaka Upgrades: What does it mean for Ethereum? – Binance

Wed, 16 Apr 2025 14:32:51 +0000

The upcoming Pectra and Fusaka upgrades are designed to enhance Ethereum’s role as a scalable Layer 2 (L2) settlement and data availability layer, with Pectra expected in May 2025 and Fusaka later that year. These upgrades focus on performance and usability improvements rather than on reinforcing ETH’s monetary premium or censorship resistance.

Pectra introduces three major enhancements: EIP-7251 will increase the maximum effective balance per validator from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH, helping to reduce network strain caused by over one million validators; EIP-7691 will expand blob capacity to accommodate more data at low cost; and EIP-7702 will enable native smart contract wallet capabilities for user accounts, paving the way for bundled transactions and social recovery.

The Evolving Relationship Between Ethereum and Its Layer-2s – Coin Metrics

Tue, 08 Apr 2025 03:46:02 +0000

Author Tanay Ved via Coin Metrics

*A data-driven look at how Ethereum’s Layer-2 growth is reshaping network economics and ETH’s value accrual.
*Ethereum’s shift toward a Layer-2-centric scaling model has expanded its ecosystem but reduced mainnet transaction demand, altering its economic dynamics. The Dencun upgrade introduced blobspace, significantly lowering L2 settlement costs and enabling highly profitable rollups like Base, which sparked debate over whether L2s benefit or extract value from Ethereum. As ETH’s returns increasingly hinge on network fundamentals—such as fees and token burn—its recent underperformance signals market unease over weakening value accrual. Upcoming upgrades like Pectra aim to double blob capacity, boost both L1 and L2 demand, and reestablish Ethereum’s long-term value proposition across its modular infrastructure.

Blockspace & Blobspace: a tale of two Ethereum products by cyber.Fund

Mon, 07 Apr 2025 03:36:59 +0000

Authors Antero Eloranta, Dogan Alpaslan, Artem Kotelskiy from cyber.Fund
In-depth analysis of Ethereum’s evolving data architecture, focusing on the introduction of ‘blobspace’ alongside traditional ‘blockspace’. This development, part of the Dencun upgrade and EIP-4844, aims to enhance scalability and reduce transaction costs, particularly benefiting Layer 2 (L2) rollups.

Key Insights:

Ethereum L1 Blockspace: The report examines the supply and demand dynamics of Ethereum’s Layer 1 (L1) blockspace, highlighting how transaction fees, determined by gas usage, influence network congestion and validator incentives.
Introduction of Blobspace: ‘Blobspace’ is introduced as a new data layer designed for rollups to post data more efficiently. Blobs offer temporary data storage, reducing the need for permanent on-chain data, thereby lowering costs and improving scalability.
Economic Implications: The addition of blobspace creates a separate market for data availability, impacting gas dynamics and transaction fees. This separation allows for more efficient resource allocation between L1 and L2 solutions.
L2 Blockspace Economics: The report also delves into the economics of L2 blockspace, discussing how rollups interact with both blockspace and blobspace, and how these interactions affect overall network efficiency and scalability.

Overall, the report underscores Ethereum’s strategic shift towards a modular architecture, enhancing scalability and efficiency through the integration of blobspace.

Ethereum: The OG Smart Contract Blockchain – Grayscale

Thu, 20 Mar 2025 17:41:00 +0000

Smart contract platforms are the foundational infrastructure for decentralized applications and blockchain-based financial systems, playing a key role in reshaping global commerce and markets. Grayscale Research expects adoption of these platforms to accelerate in the next 1–2 years, driven in part by upcoming U.S. regulatory developments. Ethereum remains the leading smart contract platform, based on market capitalization, ecosystem size, developer activity, and value of on-chain assets. Ethereum’s commitment to decentralization, security, and neutrality positions it well for long-term dominance. These qualities make Ether a critical asset in diversified crypto portfolios. Despite uncertainties around long-term fee structures and competitive pressures, Grayscale projects that Ethereum could grow its total network fees from an annualized $1.7 billion to over $20 billion by successfully scaling its infrastructure and preserving its pricing power.

What Big Companies Are Building on Ethereum – Galaxy

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 22:41:00 +0000

Major Use Cases Gaining Traction

More than 50 mainstream companies outside the crypto industry have developed products or services leveraging Ethereum or its Layer 2 networks. These firms span a variety of sectors—from fashion giants like Louis Vuitton and Adidas to major financial players including Deutsche Bank and PayPal. Importantly, the focus here is not on general crypto market infrastructure such as trading platforms, custodians, or compliance tools. Instead, these initiatives center on Ethereum-native use cases like NFTs, real-world assets (RWAs), Web3 development tools, and Layer 2 solutions. Of the 20 financial institutions identified as actively building on Ethereum, half are banks—most of which are exploring or issuing RWAs. This report aims to spotlight the most notable early use cases driving institutional and enterprise adoption of Ethereum.

An Overview of Ethereum and Its Potential Use Cases – Fidelity

Fri, 06 Dec 2024 16:10:47 +0000

ChatGPT said:

Launched in 2013 by Vitalik Buterin and seven co-founders, Ethereum set out to build on Bitcoin’s decentralized foundation by creating a programmable blockchain with broader utility. Unlike Bitcoin, which was primarily designed as digital cash, Ethereum introduced a platform where developers could build decentralized applications using smart contracts. Over a decade later, it has become the leading smart contract platform and the second-largest digital asset by market capitalization. Fidelity Digital Assets’ latest “Coin Report” focuses on Ethereum, offering a comprehensive analysis of its technological foundation and long-term potential. The report emphasizes Ethereum’s role as a programmable platform that uses its native asset, ether, to facilitate transactions and power decentralized applications. It also highlights Ethereum’s early mover advantage, which enabled it to build powerful network effects, and outlines its distinctions from Bitcoin and other digital assets. By enabling developers to create decentralized financial services like payments, trading, lending, and borrowing, Ethereum helped revolutionize the digital economy. Ethereum remains at the center of digital asset innovation, but its future leadership will depend on continued evolution and adoption.

Why Ether Stands Out Among Digital Assets – ARK Invest

Tue, 15 Oct 2024 08:56:08 +0000

*Author: Lorenzo Valente, Director of Research at ARK Invest.
*As Bitcoin solidifies its role as a digital store of value with a fixed monetary policy, Ethereum and its native asset, ETH, are emerging as a complementary institutional-grade asset with distinct economic characteristics. Unlike most digital assets, ETH offers a native yield through staking, positioning it as the only major crypto asset that generates real, protocol-level income. This yield has begun to influence both adjacent networks and broader digital asset monetary policy—mirroring the role U.S. Treasury bills play in traditional finance.

Valuing Layer 1 Tokens as Monetary Stores of Value (MSOV) – Skycatcher

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 03:40:02 +0000

Skycatcher introduces a novel “monetary store of value” (MSOV) framework to value native tokens of Layer 1 blockchains. The framework implies that at today’s prices, Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL) are expected to grow their MSOV totals by $142 billion and $85 billion respectively, as they currently trade at 2.1x and 6.7x multiples to their MSOV totals. The paper is a resource to help investors understand long-term value drivers and implied expectations for Layer 1 (L1) tokens.

ETH 2030 Price Target and Optimal Portfolio Allocations

Sun, 30 Jun 2024 22:38:47 +0000

In this report, VanEck projects that approval for spot ether ETFs to trade on U.S. exchanges is approaching. Such products would allow institutional investors and financial advisors to hold ETH through regulated, qualified custodians while benefiting from the liquidity and pricing efficiency characteristic of ETFs.

In anticipation of this development, VanEck has updated its valuation model, reexamined Ethereum’s core investment thesis, and conducted quantitative analyses on ETH’s interaction with BTC in a traditional 60/40 portfolio—focusing on the balance between risk and return.

Monthly Outlook: Expectations on Ethereum

Wed, 15 May 2024 03:19:00 +0000

Author David Han, Coinbase Institutional Research Analyst

Clarifying fundamental demand drivers for ether, and making sense of its narratives.

The recent approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. has strengthened Bitcoin’s identity as a store-of-value and cemented its role in the broader macroeconomic landscape. In contrast, Ethereum continues to face ongoing questions about its core positioning within the crypto ecosystem. Alternative Layer 1 blockchains such as Solana challenge Ethereum’s dominance as the primary destination for decentralized applications. Meanwhile, the rapid rise of Ethereum Layer 2s and the accompanying reduction in ETH burn have introduced uncertainty around ETH’s long-term value accrual model.

Ethereum Institutional Thesis: A Store of Value with Cash Flow

Sun, 31 Dec 2023 15:53:14 +0000

This report dives into eight key institutional theses about the Ethereum network and ETH, its native asset:

1. Ethereum has one of the strongest monetary policies of any major crypto asset.

2. Ethereum’s native staking yield makes it a differentiated store of value.

3. Ethereum’s Proof of Stake mechanism offers a more economical value capture mechanism than Bitcoin’s Proof of Work.

4. Ethereum’s Proof of Stake mechanism is potentially more secure than Proof of Work.