Author: Vivek Raman, CEO of Ethereumize; Translation: @Jinse Finance xz
Over the past decade, Ethereum has grown into the most secure, reliable, and trustworthy blockchain adopted by institutions worldwide.
Ethereum technology has achieved large-scale scaling, and the institutional application paradigm has taken shape. The global regulatory environment is opening its arms to blockchain infrastructure. The rise of stablecoins and asset tokenization is triggering fundamental changes.
Therefore—starting in 2026—Ethereum will become the best platform for business activities.
After a decade of validation, Ethereum, with its stability, global accessibility, and continuous operation, has become the preferred choice for institutions deploying blockchain technology. Let's review how Ethereum has become the default home for tokenized assets over the past two years.
Finally—we'll conclude with three predictions for Ethereum in 2026: **Tokenization scale, stablecoin volume, and ETH price will all see a fivefold increase.** The stage for Ethereum's resurgence is set, and all businesses will enter an era built on Ethereum infrastructure. 1. Ethereum: The Destination of Tokenization Blockchain is reshaping assets, just as the internet revolutionized information—making them **digital, programmable, and globally interoperable.** Tokenization enables a comprehensive upgrade of business processes by integrating assets, data, and payments into the same digital infrastructure. Assets and currencies such as stocks, bonds, and real estate will be able to circulate at internet speeds. This is a financial system upgrade that should have been achieved decades ago, and now global public chains like Ethereum make it possible. Tokenization is transitioning from a conceptual term to a fundamental business model revolution. Just as no business would regress from the internet to the fax machine era, financial institutions, once they experience the efficiency, automation, and speed of a globally shared blockchain infrastructure, will never reverse the tokenization process. The vast majority of high-value asset tokenization occurs on Ethereum—because it is the most neutral and secure global infrastructure, like the internet, not controlled by a single entity and open to everyone. By 2026, the "experimental phase" of tokenization has ended—we are now fully entering the deployment phase, with industry giants launching flagship products directly on Ethereum to reach global liquidity markets. Below are some selected examples of institutional tokenization based on Ethereum: JPMorgan Chase deployed its money market fund directly on Ethereum, marking a milestone as the first time a public blockchain has been directly used in the banking industry; Fidelity Investments launched its money market fund on the Ethereum mainnet, fully integrating asset management and operations into the blockchain system; Apollo Asset Management issued its private credit fund ACRED on a public blockchain—its maximum liquidity is concentrated on Ethereum and its layer-2 networks; BlackRock—one of the most active advocates of "tokenization of everything"—launched the institutional-grade tokenized money market fund BUIDL on Ethereum, sparking a wave of institutional tokenization; Amundi—Europe's largest asset management company—completed the tokenization transformation of its euro-denominated money market fund on Ethereum; Bank of New York Mellon, the oldest bank in the United States, successfully tokenized its AAA-rated secured loan certificate fund on Ethereum; Baillie Gifford, one of the largest asset management institutions in the United Kingdom, is launching the world's first tokenized bond fund on Ethereum and its Layer 2 networks.
2, Ethereum: The Chain of Stablecoins
Stablecoins are the first and most clearly defined example of product-market fit in the tokenization process—stablecoin transaction volume is projected to exceed $10 trillion in 2025. Stablecoins are essentially a digital upgrade of the US dollar, a software upgrade of currency, enabling the dollar to circulate freely at internet speeds and with programmability.
2025 marked a milestone year for stablecoins and public blockchain development due to the passage of the GENIUS Act (the Stablecoin Act) in the United States. This act established a regulatory framework for stablecoins and gave the green light to the public blockchain infrastructure supporting them.
Even before the GENIUS Act, Ethereum was already the most widely adopted infrastructure for stablecoins.
Currently, 60% of stablecoins worldwide circulate on Ethereum and its Layer 2 networks. The passage of the GENIUS Act marks Ethereum's official entry into a "commercially open phase"—institutional participants gain regulatory approval to deploy their own stablecoins on public blockchains. Just as email and websites achieved widespread adoption through access to the global internet (rather than dozens of fragmented intranets), stablecoins and all tokenized assets can only fully realize their utility and network effects within a unified global public blockchain ecosystem. Therefore, the stablecoin wave has only just begun. A recent example is SoFi Bank—it became the first national bank to issue a stablecoin (SoFiUSD) on a permissionless public blockchain, and SoFi chose Ethereum. This is just the tip of the iceberg in stablecoin development. Investment banks and digital banks are exploring issuing their own stablecoins independently or in alliances, while fintech companies are actively deploying and integrating stablecoins. The digitization of the US dollar on public blockchains has been fully launched—and Ethereum is the default platform for this transformation.
3, Ethereum: Building Your Own Blockchain
Blockchain is not a one-size-fits-all tool. Global financial markets require customized configurations based on geographical characteristics, regulatory systems, and customer groups. Therefore, Ethereum was designed from its inception to combine the highest security with the strongest customizability—achieved through a "layer-2 network" blockchain that can be easily deployed on the Ethereum mainnet.
Just as every company has its own website, dedicated applications, and customized environments on the internet, many companies will run their own layer-2 blockchains on Ethereum in the future.
This is not a theoretical architecture—but a practice that is being implemented. Ethereum's layer-2 network already has institutional-grade application precedents, has completed large-scale verification, and makes Ethereum the best platform for commercial deployment.
Here are some specific examples: Coinbase is building its Base blockchain as an Ethereum Layer 2 network, leveraging Ethereum's security and liquidity while opening up new revenue streams for Coinbase; Robinhood is building its own dedicated chain as an Ethereum Layer 2 network to support tokenized stocks, prediction markets, and diversified assets; the global banking communications network SWIFT is using the Ethereum Layer 2 network Linea for blockchain settlements; JPMorgan Chase has deployed its tokenized deposits on the Ethereum Layer 2 network Base; and Deutsche Bank is building a public-facing permissioned blockchain network as an Ethereum Layer 2 network, laying the foundation for more bank-grade Layer 2 networks. Beyond customizability, Layer 2 networks represent the best business model in the blockchain field. They integrate Ethereum's global security and achieve profit margins exceeding 90% through operating Layer 2 networks, opening up entirely new profit channels for businesses. This provides institutions adopting blockchain with a win-win solution—inheriting Ethereum's security system and liquidity while maintaining their own profit margins and operating their own dedicated environment on Ethereum. Robinhood chose Ethereum's Layer 2 architecture to build its blockchain precisely because "building a truly decentralized chain with a secure system is extremely difficult…and Ethereum provides us with inherent security guarantees." The global financial market will not be confined to operating on a single chain. However, the global financial system can coexist on an interconnected network—that is, Ethereum and its Layer 2 ecosystem. 4. Regulatory Landscape Transformation The transformation and upgrading of the global financial system cannot be separated from regulatory support. Financial institutions are not technology companies and cannot simply achieve innovation through rapid trial and error. The flow of high-value assets and funds requires a strong regulatory framework—and the United States is leading this process: Under Chairman Paul Atkins, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has established the first innovation-friendly regulatory mechanism since the birth of Ethereum in 2015. Financial institutions are actively embracing tokenization; the financial system is ready for digital transformation, and Atkins himself has asserted that "all U.S. markets will be on-chain within two years." The U.S. Congress also supports responsible blockchain applications. In addition to the GENIUS Act, passed in 2025, the CLARITY Act will establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for tokenization and public blockchain infrastructure. Blockchain technology has now gained legal recognition, providing clear guidance for financial institutions to adopt the technology. While not a government agency, the U.S. Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation (SDC) is a core infrastructure of the U.S. securities market. Now, the company is fully embracing tokenization, allowing its custodial assets to be transferred to a public blockchain. After more than a decade of regulatory ambiguity, the true potential for institutional applications in the blockchain ecosystem has been suppressed. Now, the regulatory system, led by the United States, has finally turned the tide. Ethereum, as the best business platform, is ready to flourish. 5. **ETH: Institutional-Grade Reserve Asset** Ethereum has established itself as the most secure and reliable blockchain—thus becoming the platform of choice for institutions. As a result, ETH will undergo a value reassessment in 2026, becoming an institutional-grade store of value asset on par with BTC. The blockchain ecosystem will accommodate diverse stores of value assets. Bitcoin (BTC) has become the recognized "digital gold," while Ethereum (ETH) has transformed into "digital oil"—a productive value store asset with profitability, practicality, and underlying ecosystem-driven capabilities. MicroStrategy, the largest Bitcoin reserve holder, has been a pioneer in elevating BTC to the status of a value store through four years of continuous BTC purchases as reserve assets and advocating for the value of BTC, becoming a core institutional holder in the digital asset field. Currently, four benchmark companies in the Ethereum ecosystem have adopted the same strategy: BitMine Immersion (BMNR), led by Tom Lee; Sharplink Gaming (SBET), led by Joe Lubin and Joseph Chalom; The Ether Machine (ETHM), managed by Andrew Keys; and Bit Digital (BTBT), led by Sam Tabar. MicroStrategy holds 3.2% of the total BTC supply, while these four ETH reserve companies have purchased approximately 4.5% of the circulating ETH supply in the past six months—and this is just the beginning of their strategy. As these four leading companies include ETH on their balance sheets, the institutional holdings of ETH reserve companies are rapidly increasing. ETH has the potential to become a value reassessment asset comparable to BTC as an institutional store of value. 6. Ethereum 2026 Forecast: Five-Fold Growth Tokenized Assets: Size to $100 Billion (5-Fold Growth) By 2025, the total value of tokenized assets on the blockchain is expected to jump from approximately $6 billion to over $18 billion, with 66% concentrated on Ethereum and its Layer 2 networks. The global financial system is beginning to experience the tokenization wave, with institutions such as JPMorgan Chase, BlackRock, and Fidelity choosing Ethereum as their default platform for high-value tokenized assets. We predict that the total value of tokenized assets will increase fivefold in 2026, reaching nearly $100 billion, with the vast majority circulating through the Ethereum network. Stablecoins: Market Cap Surpasses $1.5 Trillion (5-Fold Increase) The total market capitalization of stablecoins on public blockchains is currently $308 billion, with approximately 60% circulating on Ethereum and its Layer 2 networks (this percentage rises to 90% if other EVM-compatible chains that may become future Ethereum Layer 2 networks are included). Stablecoins have become a strategic asset for the US government. The US Treasury Department has repeatedly emphasized that stablecoins are a national priority for extending the dollar's hegemony into the 21st century. The current total circulating dollar amount is $22.3 trillion. With the enactment of the GENIUS Act and the widespread adoption of stablecoins, it is estimated that over 20-30% of the dollar will shift to public blockchains. We predict that the market capitalization of stablecoins is expected to grow fivefold by 2026, reaching $1.5 trillion, with Ethereum becoming the dominant force in this process.
ETH: Target Price $15,000 (5x growth)
ETH is rapidly evolving into an institutional-grade store of value asset comparable to BTC. ETH is essentially a call option on the growth of blockchain technology, representing the best way to capture the following growth dividends: the advancement of the tokenization wave; the expansion of stablecoin scale; the institutional application of blockchain technology; and the "ChatGPT moment" of the financial system moving towards the internet age.
Holding ETH is like owning shares in the emerging financial internet. Its value accumulation logic is clear—more users, more assets, more applications, more layer-two networks, and more transactions will ultimately converge on ETH's value.
We believe that as ETH enters its "Nvidia moment," its value will be revalued at least 5x by 2026 (reaching a market capitalization of $2 trillion, equivalent to BTC's current level).
7、Ethereum: The Best Business Platform
By 2026, the questioning phase of "Why use blockchain?" will be history. We have fully entered the race where institutions are vying to adopt tokenization, stablecoins, and customized blockchains—this is structurally upgrading the global financial system.
Institutions are choosing the blockchain infrastructure with the longest operating history, the richest precedents, the strongest security, the deepest liquidity, the highest online rate and reliability, and the lowest risk. This is Ethereum. If businesses want to improve profit margins, they can reduce costs through tokenization, reduce transaction fees by using stablecoins, and build their own blockchains on Ethereum. If they want to open up new revenue streams, they can build structured products on Ethereum, create new asset classes, and issue their own stablecoins. Want to achieve digital transformation? Ethereum technology can be used to streamline operational processes, automate finance and payments, and reduce manual reconciliation.
2025 marked a turning point for Ethereum: infrastructure upgrades were completed, institutional proof-of-concept projects surged, and the regulatory paradigm shifted. Now, in 2026, we will witness the "Internet moment" for the global financial system. And all of this will unfold on Ethereum—the premier business platform.
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