Ethereum 2026: 5x growth window opens, institutions rush to raise funds, and ETH value revaluation

Original author: Vivek Raman, Etherealize

Original compilation: Saoirse, Foresight News

Editor’s note_: At the beginning of 2026, when global financial institutions are still looking for a definite path for digital transformation, Ethereum has quietly become the core position of institutional layout with ten years of precipitated security, large-scale technical support, and a clear regulatory environment. From JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s deployment of money market funds on public chains and Fidelity’s integration of asset management into Layer1 networks, to the U.S. GENIUS Act clearing regulatory barriers for stablecoins, to platforms such as Coinbase and Robinhood relying on Layer2 to build their own blockchains - a series of actions confirm Ethereum’s transformation from a “technical testing ground” to a “global financial infrastructure”. In this analysis, Ethereal’s Vivek Raman not only dismantled the underlying logic of Ethereum becoming the “best business platform”, but also proposed a prediction of “5-fold growth in the three tracks” of tokenized assets, stablecoins, and ETH prices. _

Over the past decade, Ethereum has established itself as the most secure and reliable blockchain platform adopted by institutions worldwide.

Ethereum technology has been adopted at scale, precedents for institutional applications have been established, and the global regulatory environment is open to blockchain infrastructure, while the development of stablecoins and asset tokenization are bringing about fundamental changes.

Therefore, from 2026, Ethereum will be the best platform to do business.

After ten years of application promotion, stable operation, global popularity, and high availability, Ethereum has become the first choice for institutions to deploy blockchain. Next, let’s look back at how Ethereum has become the default platform for tokenized assets over the past two years.

Finally, we will give a prediction for Ethereum in 2026: tokenization scale, stablecoin scale, and ETH price are all expected to grow by 5 times. The stage for Ethereum’s revival is set, and the time is ripe for businesses of all kinds to adopt Ethereum infrastructure.

Ethereum: The core platform for tokenizing assets

Blockchain has transformed the asset space just as the Internet has reshaped the information sector – making assets digital, programmable, and globally interoperable.

Asset tokenization enables digitization by integrating assets, data, and payments into the same infrastructure, upgrading business processes across the board. Stocks, bonds, real estate and other assets and funds will be able to flow at Internet speed. This is a major upgrade that is long overdue, and now, global public blockchains like Ethereum are finally making this vision a reality.

Asset tokenization is rapidly transforming from a popular concept to a fundamental upgrade in business models. Just as no company will give up on the Internet and return to the era of fax machines, once financial institutions experience the efficiency, automation, and high-speed advantages brought by global shared blockchain infrastructure, they will not return to the traditional model, and the tokenization process will be irreversible.

Currently, the vast majority of high-value assets are tokenized on the Ethereum platform – because Ethereum is the most neutral and secure global infrastructure, similar to the internet, it is not controlled by any single entity and is open to all users.

As of 2026, the “experimental phase” of asset tokenization has officially ended, and the industry has entered the deployment phase. Major institutions are launching flagship products directly on the Ethereum platform to access global liquidity.

Here are some examples of institutional asset tokenization on Eure:

• JPMorgan deploys money market funds directly on Ethereum, becoming one of the first banks to adopt public blockchains directly;
• Fidelity launched a money market fund on Ethereum Layer 1 (Layer 1 network), integrating asset management and operation processes into the blockchain system.
• Apollo launches ACRED, a private credit fund on public blockchains, with Ethereum and its Layer2 (Layer 2 network) having the highest liquidity;
• BlackRock, as one of the most active advocates of the “tokenization of everything” concept, has led the wave of institutional asset tokenization by launching BUIDL, a tokenized money market fund, on Ethereum.
• Amundi (Europe’s largest asset manager) tokenizes its euro-denominated money market funds on the Ethereum platform;
• BNY Mellon (the oldest bank in the United States) tokenized a AAA-rated Secured Loan Certificate (CLO) fund on the Ethereum platform;
• Baillie Gifford, one of the UK’s largest asset managers, is set to launch its first tokenized bond fund of its kind on Ethereum and its Layer2 network.

Ethereum: The core blockchain of stablecoins

Stablecoins are the first clear example of “product-market fit” in the field of asset tokenization - the scale of stablecoin transfers has exceeded $10 trillion by 2025. Stablecoins are essentially tokenized US dollars, which are equivalent to “software upgrades of money”, allowing US dollars to circulate at Internet speed and have programmable characteristics.

2025 marks a pivotal year for the development of stablecoins and public blockchains: the GENIUS Act in the United States, also known as the Stablecoin Act, was officially passed. The bill establishes a regulatory framework for stablecoins in one fell swoop and provides a “green light” for the public blockchain infrastructure underlying stablecoins.

Even before the GENIUS Act was passed, Ethereum’s stablecoin adoption rate was far ahead. Today, 60% of stablecoins are deployed on Ethereum and its Layer2 network (90% if you include Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible chains that may become Ethereum Layer2 in the future). The introduction of the GENIUS Act marks Ethereum’s official “open business application” - institutions have received regulatory permission to deploy their own stablecoins on public blockchains.

The key to mass adoption of email and websites is access to a unified global internet rather than a fragmented internal network. Similarly, stablecoins and all tokenized assets can only be fully utilized and network effects in a unified global public blockchain ecosystem.

Therefore, the explosive growth of stablecoins is just getting started. A typical case is that SoFi became the first bank to issue a stablecoin (SoFiUSD) on a permissionless public blockchain and ultimately chose the Ethereum platform.

This is just the “tip of the iceberg” of stablecoin development. Investment banks and new banks are exploring the issuance of their own stablecoins individually or in consortiums, and fintech companies are also promoting the deployment and integration of stablecoins. The digitization of the US dollar on public blockchains has been fully launched, and Ethereum is the default platform for this process.

Ethereum: Build a proprietary blockchain

Blockchain is not a “one-size-fits-all” tool. The global financial market needs to be customized according to the differences in geography, regulatory system and customer group. For this reason, Ethereum has been designed with high security as its core design goal from the beginning, and has achieved a high degree of customization through a “Layer 2 blockchain” that can be flexibly deployed on its upper layers.

Just as every company has its own website, application, and customized environment on the Internet, many companies will also have their own Layer2 blockchain in the Ethereum ecosystem in the future.

This is not a theoretical framework, but a practical application that has been implemented at present. Ethereum Layer2 has set a precedent for institutional applications, achieving large-scale deployment and becoming the core support for Ethereum’s “business-friendly” characteristics. The following are some examples:

• Coinbase has built the Base blockchain based on Ethereum Layer2, which not only relies on Ethereum’s security and liquidity, but also opens up new sources of income for itself.
• Robinhood is building a proprietary blockchain that will integrate tokenized stocks, prediction markets, and various assets, and is built on Ethereum Layer2 technology.
• The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) (Global Banking Information Transmission Network) adopts the Ethereum Layer2 network Linea to carry out blockchain-based settlement services.
• JPMorgan deployed tokenized deposit operations on the Ethereum Layer2 network Base;
• Deutsche Bank is building a public permissioned blockchain network based on Ethereum Layer2, laying the foundation for more banks to build Layer2 networks…

The value of Layer2 lies not only in customization, but also in the best business model in the blockchain field. Layer2 not only integrates Ethereum’s global security but also achieves profit margins of over 90% through operations, opening up new revenue streams for enterprises.

For institutions adopting blockchain technology, this is the best way to “have both a catch and a win” - relying on Ethereum’s security and liquidity, while maintaining its own profit margins while operating a dedicated environment within the Ethereum ecosystem. Robinhood chose to build its own blockchain based on Ethereum Layer2 because of this consideration: “It is extremely difficult to create a truly decentralized security chain… With Ethereum, we have security by default.”

The global financial market will not be concentrated on a single blockchain, but the global financial system can rely on an interconnected network to achieve synergy - this network is Ethereum and its Layer 2 ecosystem.

Changes in the regulatory environment

Without regulatory support, a fundamental upgrade of the global financial system is impossible. Financial institutions are not technology companies and cannot innovate through “quick trial and error”. The flow of high-value assets and funds requires a sound regulatory framework, and the United States is leading the way in this area:

• Under the leadership of US SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, the first regulatory system to support innovation has been formalized since Ethereum’s inception in 2015. Institutions have actively embraced asset tokenization, the financial system is preparing to migrate to digital infrastructure, and Atkins himself said that “in the next two years, all markets in the United States will be able to operate on-chain.”
• The U.S. Congress also supports the responsible adoption of blockchain technology. The GENIUS Act, passed in 2025 (mentioned in the “Stablecoins” section above) and the upcoming CLARITY Act, which will establish a comprehensive framework for asset tokenization and public blockchain infrastructure, have incorporated blockchain into the legal system, providing clear guidance for financial institutions to apply the technology.
• The Depository and Clearing Corporation of America (DTCC) is not a government agency, but it is the core infrastructure operator of the U.S. securities market. The agency has fully embraced asset tokenization, allowing assets deposited in depository trust companies (DTCs) to circulate on public blockchains.

Over the past decade, the blockchain ecosystem has been in a “regulatory ambiguity” for a long time, and its institutional-level application potential has been suppressed. Today, under the leadership of the United States, the regulatory environment has changed from “resistance” to “help”. The stage for Ethereum to become the “best business platform” and achieve vigorous development has been fully set.

ETH: Institutional-grade treasury asset

Ethereum has established its status as the “most secure blockchain” and has become the default choice for institutional adoption. Based on this, ETH will be repriced in 2026 and become an “institutional-grade store of value asset” alongside BTC.

The blockchain ecosystem will have more than one store of value asset: BTC has established its status as “digital gold”, while ETH has become “digital oil” - a store of value asset with profitability, practicality, and underlying ecological driving economic activities.

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Strategy, as the largest Bitcoin holder, has led the way for BTC to become a store of value asset. Over the past four years, MicroStrategy has continued to incorporate BTC into treasury assets, advocating the value concept of BTC, making it a core category for institutional digital asset holdings.

Today, there are 4 “micro-strategy-like” companies in the Ethereum ecosystem that are promoting similar breakthroughs for ETH:

• BitMine Immersion (ticker: BMNR), operated by Tom Lee;
• Sharplink Gaming (ticker: SBET), operated by Joe Lubin and Joseph Chalom;
• The Ether Machine (ticker: ETHM), operated by Andrew Keys;
• Bit Digital (ticker: BTBT), operated by Sam Tabar.

MicroStrategy holds 3.2% of the circulating supply of BTC. The above four companies holding ETH have accumulated about 4.5% of the ETH circulating supply in the past six months - and this process has just begun.

As the four companies continue to include ETH in their balance sheets, institutional holdings in these ETH-holding companies are rising rapidly, and ETH is expected to be repriced alongside BTC as an institutional-grade store of value.

Ethereum Prediction 2026: 5x Growth

Tokenized Assets: 5x growth to $100 billion

By 2025, the total value of tokenized assets on the blockchain will increase from approximately $6 billion to over $18 billion, with 66% deployed on Ethereum and its Layer2 network.

The global financial system has just begun the process of asset tokenization, and institutions such as JPMorgan Chase, BlackRock, and Fidelity have made Ethereum the default platform for high-value tokenized assets.

We predict that the total size of tokenized assets will grow fivefold to nearly $100 billion in 2026, with the vast majority deployed on the Ethereum network.

Stablecoins: 5x growth to $1.5 trillion

Currently, the total size of stablecoins on public blockchains is $308 billion, of which about 60% is deployed on Ethereum and its Layer2 network (90% if you include Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible chains that may become Ethereum Layer2 in the future).

Stablecoins have become a strategic asset for the U.S. government. The U.S. Treasury Department has repeatedly stated that stablecoins are a central move to consolidate the dollar’s dominance in the 21st century. Currently, the total circulation of US dollars is $22.3 trillion. With the implementation of the GENIUS Act and the launch of large-scale stablecoin adoption, it is expected that 20%-30% of the US dollar will be migrated to public blockchains.

We predict a 5x increase in total stablecoin market capitalization to $1.5 trillion in 2026, with Ethereum playing a leading role in this process.

ETH: 5x growth to $15,000

ETH is rapidly developing as an institutional-grade store of value asset alongside BTC. ETH is a “call option” for the growth of blockchain technology, and its value growth will benefit from the following trends:

• Scale expansion of asset tokenization
• Popularization of stablecoins
• Institutional adoption of blockchain
• The “ChatGPT moment” when the financial system is upgraded to the Internet era (referring to the inflection point of industry change brought about by technological breakthroughs)

Holding ETH is equivalent to holding a portion of the equity of the “new financial internet”. Its value growth logic is clear: the increase in user scale, asset scale, number of applications, Layer2 networks, and transaction frequency will all drive the value of ETH up.

We predict that ETH will achieve at least 5x value growth in 2026 (with a market capitalization of $2 trillion, equivalent to the current BTC market capitalization), ushering in the “Nvidia moment” (referring to a key stage similar to Nvidia’s explosive growth due to the AI wave).

Ethereum: The Best Platform for Doing Business

As of 2026, the “why blockchain” discussion is a thing of the past. Nowadays, institutions are competing for asset tokenization, stablecoin applications, and customized blockchain deployment, and the structural upgrading of the global financial system has begun.

When choosing blockchain infrastructure, institutions prioritize factors such as long-term operational record, application precedents, security, liquidity, availability, and risk levels – and Ethereum performs best in all dimensions. Ethereum is ideal if your business needs are:

• Increase profit margins? Costs can be reduced through asset tokenization, fees can be reduced using stablecoins, and proprietary blockchains can be built based on Ethereum.
• Open up new revenue streams? It can build structured products, launch new assets, and issue its own stablecoins on the Ethereum platform.
• Achieve digital upgrades for business? Ethereum can be used to optimize operational processes, automate accounting and payments, and reduce manual reconciliation.

2025 is an inflection point for Ethereum’s development: infrastructure upgrades are completed, institutional pilot projects are implemented on a large scale, and the regulatory environment is turning favorable.

In 2026, the global financial system will usher in an “Internet moment” - and this change will happen on Ethereum, the best platform to do business.