2026: Ethereum's "Nvidia Moment"—When Wall Street's Trillions Pour into Public Blockchains, History Stands at a Critical Point

This is Ethereum's quietest yet most dangerous moment.
The danger isn't in a collapse, but in most people still not realizing: when JPMorgan moves money market funds directly onto the Ethereum mainnet, when BlackRock's $10 trillion asset management empire chooses Ethereum as the foundation for asset tokenization, and when the US Congress lays out the red carpet for stablecoins—these seemingly independent signals are converging into a shockwave that could rewrite financial history.
2026 may become Ethereum's "Nvidia Moment": not because it skyrockets tenfold, but because it completes an irreversible leap from "geek toy" to "institutional infrastructure."
A Decade-long Journey: From Laboratory to Wall Street's "Default Option"
In 2015, when Vitalik Buterin wrote the first line of Ethereum code at the blockchain lab, Wall Street bankers were still using fax machines for cross-border settlements. Who could have imagined that this experiment, mocked as "the world's computer," would, ten years later, become the default choice of the "financial internet" jointly selected by BlackRock, Fidelity, and JPMorgan?
The turning point occurred in Q4 2025. JPMorgan was no longer satisfied with "blockchain research" and directly deployed money market funds on the Ethereum mainnet, becoming the first systemically important bank to move core operations onto a public chain. Fidelity followed closely, migrating trillions of dollars in assets to Ethereum layer-1. Meanwhile, BlackRock's tokenized money market fund BUIDL, managing $10 trillion, sent an unmistakable signal to the market: asset tokenization is not the future, but the present.
The logic behind these institutions' choices is astonishingly consistent: the transformative power of blockchain on assets is akin to the internet's reshaping of information. When stocks, bonds, and real estate can circulate digitally 24/7 worldwide, and when assets, data, and payments are integrated into a single infrastructure, the entire financial system's efficiency will leap quantumly. This isn't an upgrade; it's a generational leap from the fax machine era to the internet era.
Ethereum's victory isn't because it's the cheapest or fastest, but because it's the most neutral, secure, and uncontrollable global infrastructure. Just like the internet doesn't belong to any single entity, Ethereum's public nature allows anyone to build on it, but no one can control it. For JPMorgan and others, this is more important than any technological advantage.
Stablecoins: The "$10 Trillion" Dollar "Software Upgrade" Behind the US Dollar
If asset tokenization is a long-term revolution, stablecoins are the first truly operational business model. In 2025, stablecoin transfer volume surpassed $10 trillion, silently completing a "software upgrade" of the dollar—from physical currency to programmable digital dollars.
Behind this number is a fundamental revolution in the monetary system. When cross-border payments are shortened from 3 days to 3 seconds, when companies automate trillion-dollar cash flows with smart contracts, and when ordinary users can hold digital dollars without bank accounts—these changes form a digital moat around US dollar hegemony.
The US government has understood this. In 2025, the GENIUS Act not only established a regulatory framework for stablecoins but also defined public blockchains as "the core tool to consolidate the dollar’s position in the 21st century." The US Treasury has repeatedly stated: "Whoever controls digital dollars controls the future of finance."
On the stablecoin battlefield, Ethereum already holds 60% of the market share (up to 90% if including EVM-compatible chains). When SoFi, a national bank, becomes the first commercial bank to issue stablecoins on a public chain, its platform choice is no surprise—Ethereum. This is just the beginning—Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and other Wall Street investment banks, as well as fintech giants like Stripe and PayPal, are lining up to issue Ethereum-native stablecoins.
The digital migration of the US dollar is fully underway, and Ethereum is the only high-speed highway in this migration.
Layer2 Revolution: Does Every Company Need Its Own Blockchain?
"Ethereum mainnet is the internet; Layer2 is each company's dedicated website."
This analogy is becoming reality. Coinbase built the Base chain on Ethereum, enjoying the security of the mainnet while opening up new revenue streams. Robinhood is developing its own Layer2, integrating tokenized stocks, prediction markets, and various assets. Even SWIFT, the global interbank messaging system, has chosen Ethereum Layer2 network Linea for blockchain settlement.
The charm of Layer2 lies in "getting both": companies gain the security and global liquidity of Ethereum mainnet while maintaining customization and profit margins. More importantly, these Layer2 networks are interconnected, forming a composable financial super-network.
Robinhood's explanation hits the core pain point for institutions: "Building truly decentralized secure chains is extremely difficult... but with Ethereum, we automatically gain security." This encapsulates why institutions choose Ethereum: ten years of security validation + network effects + Layer2 customization = the current optimal solution.
Latest data as of January 2026 shows: the total value locked (TVL) in Ethereum Layer2 has surpassed $100 billion, a 400% increase from 2024. Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base process over 20 million transactions daily, with fees only 1/50 of Ethereum mainnet.
Regulatory Reversal: From Biggest Obstacle to Strongest Dividend
Over the past decade, regulation was the biggest obstacle to Ethereum's institutionalization. In 2025, this obstacle turned into a rocket booster.
New SEC Chair Paul Atkins explicitly stated: "Within the next two years, all markets in the US will be on-chain." This is not just a slogan— the GENIUS Act has paved the way for stablecoins, and the upcoming CLARITY Act will provide a complete legal framework for asset tokenization.
But the most significant signal comes from DTCC (Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation). This institution, which manages the world's most critical financial infrastructure, explicitly supported asset tokenization in 2025, allowing assets deposited in its system to circulate on public chains like Ethereum. This is akin to giving an official pass for the bridge between traditional finance and blockchain worlds.
Key regulatory milestones in 2026:
• January: Senate advances the Market Structure Act, ending the jurisdiction dispute between SEC and CFTC
• May 15: Fed Chair Powell's term ends; Trump may nominate a more dovish candidate
• July 1: California's Digital Financial Assets Law takes effect, establishing the regulatory framework for the largest US state
• July 18: Deadline for the GENIUS Act's supplementary rules, full stablecoin compliance
Regulation is no longer a barrier but a "pass" for trillion-dollar institutional capital to enter.
ETH Revaluation: From "Digital Oil" to Core Asset for Institutions
When infrastructure, applications, and regulation are all in place, ETH's value revaluation becomes inevitable.
Bitcoin's narrative is "digital gold"—a store of value. ETH's narrative is "digital oil"—not only fuel but the underlying asset of a new financial internet. Holding ETH is like holding equity, access rights, and fuel for the entire Ethereum ecosystem.
Data speaks volumes:
• In 2025, four "MicroStrategy-style" institutions collectively bought 4.5% of ETH's circulating supply (MicroStrategy's 3.2% Bitcoin holding already pushed BTC institutionalization)
• Tokenized assets grew from $6 billion to $18 billion, with 66% deployed on Ethereum
• Stablecoins reached $308 billion, with 60% on Ethereum network
• Layer2 ecosystem TVL surpassed $100 billion, with an annual growth rate of 400%
Analysts predict that in 2026, ETH will grow at least 5x, reaching a market cap of $2 trillion—comparable to Bitcoin today. This sounds aggressive, but if 20-30% of the $22.3 trillion circulating US dollars migrate to blockchain, and asset tokenization moves from experimentation to large-scale deployment, the fundamental revaluation of Ethereum's network value will occur.
Latest data as of January 15, 2026: ETH price hovers around $3,300, down 55% from the 2024 high, but exchange balances are at their lowest since 2018, with long-term holders (>1 year) accounting for 68.5%. This isn't a bear market feature but a typical signal of institutional accumulation.
2026 Predictions: A Thrilling Gamble
Market consensus on Ethereum is far from formed, and this is precisely the greatest opportunity.
Bullish camp (Bernstein, Ripple CEO, JPMorgan):
• 2026 BTC target $150,000–$180,000; if ETH/BTC ratio rebounds to 0.06, ETH could reach $10,800
• JPMorgan forecasts over $130 billion in crypto inflows in 2026, far exceeding 2025
• Bitwise predicts ETH will break its four-year cycle and hit new highs in 2026
Cautious camp (CryptoQuant, some institutions):
• If demand weakens, BTC could dip to $70,000 support, with ETH pressured to $2000–$2500
• Waiting for the implementation of the Market Structure Act and clearer Fed policies
Our view: 2026 will be Ethereum's "守正出奇" year.
• 守正 (Maintain the right course): Allocate 30% of your portfolio to ETH as a core asset to enjoy institutional benefits
• 出奇 (Seek innovation): Explore 10x opportunities in new tracks like Layer2 ecosystems (ARB, OP), RWA tokenization (MKR, COMP), AI agent tokens (FET, AGIX)
The critical point has arrived: which side of history are you on?
Ethereum in 2026 is very much like the internet in 1995.
Back then, the network cables were laid, browsers had just been born, and e-commerce was in its infancy, but few truly understood. Those who chose to believe and bet at that time became the rule-makers of the new world ten years later.
Today, Ethereum's infrastructure has been refined for a decade, institutions are voting with real money, regulation has shifted from obstacle to booster, and Layer2 makes customization possible—all the accumulated groundwork is now at a tipping point.
This isn't a surge driven by a specific event but a turning point where the entire ecosystem shifts from "possibility" to "inevitability." Just like the internet in 1995 transformed from a geek toy into a fundamental business infrastructure, Ethereum is experiencing its "Nvidia Moment": not because it suddenly got better, but because the world is finally ready.
Those who choose to bet heavily at this moment may look back years later and realize they were at the starting point of a paradigm shift.
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Risk Warning: The views expressed in this article are for reference only and do not constitute investment advice. Cryptocurrency markets are highly volatile; please make decisions cautiously according to your risk tolerance.
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