Author: Vivek Raman, Etherealize
Compiled by: Saoirse, Foresight News
Over the past decade, Ethereum has established itself as the world's most secure and reliable blockchain platform for institutional adoption.
Ethereum's technology has achieved scalability, institutional application precedents have been set, the global regulatory environment is open and welcoming to blockchain infrastructure, and the development of stablecoins alongside the process of asset tokenization is bringing about fundamental changes.
Therefore, starting from 2026, Ethereum will be the best platform for conducting business.
After a decade of application promotion, stable operation, global adoption, and high availability assurance, Ethereum has become the preferred choice for institutions deploying blockchain. Next, let's review the key steps over the past two years of how Ethereum gradually became the default platform for tokenized assets.
Finally, we will provide a prediction for Ethereum in 2026: tokenization scale, stablecoin scale, and ETH price are all expected to achieve 5x growth. The stage for Ethereum's revival is set, and the time is ripe for various enterprises to adopt Ethereum infrastructure.
Ethereum: The Core Platform for Tokenized Assets
Blockchain's transformation of the asset sector is akin to the internet's reshaping of the information sector — enabling assets to become digital, programmable, and globally interoperable.
Asset tokenization achieves digitization by integrating assets, data, and payments onto the same infrastructure, thereby comprehensively upgrading business processes. Assets like stocks, bonds, real estate, and funds will be able to flow at internet speed. This is a major upgrade the financial system should have achieved long ago, and now, global public blockchains like Ethereum are finally making this vision a reality.
Asset tokenization is rapidly evolving from a hot concept to a fundamental upgrade of business models. Just as no enterprise would abandon the internet to revert to the fax machine era, once financial institutions experience the efficiency, automation, and speed brought by globally shared blockchain infrastructure, they will not return to traditional models; the tokenization process is irreversible.
Currently, the vast majority of high-value asset tokenization is completed 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.
By 2026, the "experimental phase" of asset tokenization has officially ended, and the industry has entered the deployment phase. Major institutions are directly launching flagship products on the Ethereum platform to access global liquidity.
Here are some examples of institutions conducting asset tokenization on Ethereum:
- JPMorgan Chase (JPMorgan) directly deployed a money market fund on Ethereum, becoming one of the first banks to directly adopt a public blockchain;
- Fidelity launched a money market fund on Ethereum Layer1, integrating asset management and operational processes into the blockchain system;
- Apollo launched the private credit fund ACRED on a public blockchain, with Ethereum and its Layer2 networks offering the highest liquidity;
- BlackRock, as one of the most active advocates of the "tokenization of everything" concept, led the wave of institutional asset tokenization by launching the tokenized money market fund BUIDL on Ethereum;
- Amundi (Europe's largest asset management company) tokenized its Euro-denominated money market fund on the Ethereum platform;
- BNY Mellon (the oldest bank in the US) tokenized a AAA-rated Collateralized Loan Obligation (CLO) fund on the Ethereum platform;
- Baillie Gifford (one of the UK's largest asset management firms) will launch the first-of-its-kind tokenized bond fund on Ethereum and its Layer2 networks.
Ethereum: The Core Blockchain for Stablecoins
Stablecoins are the first clear case of achieving "product-market fit" in the asset tokenization space — stablecoin transfer volume surpassed $10 trillion in 2025. Stablecoins are essentially tokenized US dollars, equivalent to a "software upgrade for money," enabling dollars to flow at internet speed and possess programmable characteristics.
2025 was a pivotal year for stablecoins and public blockchains: the US "GENIUS Act" (also known as the Stablecoin Act) was formally passed. This act established a regulatory framework for stablecoins in one fell swoop, while also giving the "green light" to the underlying public blockchain infrastructure.
Even before the passage of the GENIUS Act, Ethereum's stablecoin adoption rate was already far ahead. Now, 60% of stablecoins are deployed on Ethereum and its Layer2 networks (if Ethereum Virtual Machine compatible chains that may become Ethereum Layer2s in the future are included, this proportion reaches 90%). The introduction of the GENIUS Act marked Ethereum's official "opening for business applications" — institutions received regulatory permission to deploy their own stablecoins on public blockchains.
The key reason email and websites achieved mass adoption was their connection to a unified global internet (rather than fragmented internal networks). Similarly, stablecoins and all tokenized assets can only fully realize their utility and network effects within a unified global public blockchain ecosystem.
Therefore, the explosive growth of stablecoins has only just begun. A typical case is: US national bank SoFi became the first bank to issue a stablecoin (SoFiUSD) on a permissionless public blockchain, ultimately choosing the Ethereum platform.
This is just the "tip of the iceberg" for stablecoin development. Investment banks and neobanks are exploring issuing their own stablecoins individually or in consortiums, and fintech companies are advancing the deployment and integration of stablecoins. The digitization of the US dollar on public blockchains is fully underway, and Ethereum is the default platform for this process.
Ethereum: Building Dedicated Blockchains
Blockchain is not a "one-size-fits-all" tool. Global financial markets require customization based on differences in region, regulatory systems, and customer groups. Precisely for this reason, Ethereum was designed from its inception with high security as a core goal, and through the highly customizable "Layer2 blockchains" that can be flexibly deployed on top of it, it has achieved a high degree of customization.
Just as every enterprise has its own dedicated website, application, and customized environment on the internet, many enterprises in the future will also have their own dedicated Layer2 blockchain within the Ethereum ecosystem.
This is not a theoretical architecture but a practical application already in place. Ethereum Layer2 has established institutional application precedents, achieved scalable deployment, and become the core support for Ethereum's "business-friendly" characteristics. Here are some examples:
- Coinbase built the Base blockchain based on Ethereum Layer2, leveraging Ethereum's security and liquidity while opening up new revenue streams for itself;
- Robinhood is building its own dedicated blockchain, which will integrate tokenized stocks, prediction markets, and various assets, and is built using Ethereum Layer2 technology;
- SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) (the global bank messaging network) adopted the Ethereum Layer2 network Linea to conduct blockchain-based settlement business;
- JPMorgan Chase deployed tokenized deposit services 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; it is also the best business model in the blockchain field. Layer2 integrates the global security of Ethereum while enabling ultra-high profit margins of over 90% through operations, opening up new revenue sources for enterprises.
For institutions adopting blockchain technology, this is the best way to "have your cake and eat it too" — they can leverage Ethereum's security and liquidity while maintaining their own profit margins and operating a dedicated environment within the Ethereum ecosystem. Robinhood's choice to build its own blockchain based on Ethereum Layer2 was precisely due to this consideration: "Building a truly decentralized secure chain is extremely difficult... By leveraging Ethereum, we get security by default."
The global financial market will not concentrate on a single blockchain, but the global financial system can achieve synergy by relying on an interconnected network — this network is Ethereum and its Layer2 ecosystem.
Changes in the Regulatory Environment
Without regulatory support, a fundamental upgrade of the global financial system would be impossible. Financial institutions are not tech companies; they cannot innovate through a "fast trial and error" approach. The flow of high-value assets and funds requires a sound regulatory framework, and the United States is taking a leading role in this area:
- Under the leadership of US SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, the first pro-innovation regulatory system since Ethereum's birth in 2015 has been formally established. Institutions have actively embraced asset tokenization, the financial system is preparing for migration to digital infrastructure, and Atkins himself stated that "within the next two years, all US markets will operate on-chain."
- The US Congress also supports the responsible adoption of blockchain technology. The GENIUS Act passed in 2025 (mentioned earlier in the "Stablecoins" section) 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 this technology.
- The DTCC (Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation), although not a government agency, is the core infrastructure operator of the US securities market. It has fully embraced asset tokenization, allowing assets deposited with the DTC (Depository Trust Company) to circulate on public blockchains.
For over a decade, the blockchain ecosystem has long been in a "regulatory gray area," suppressing its potential for institutional-grade application. Now, led by the US, the regulatory environment has shifted from a "resistance" to a "catalyst." The stage for Ethereum to become the "best business platform" and achieve vigorous development is fully set.
ETH: An Institutional-Grade Treasury Asset
Ethereum has established its position as the "most secure blockchain," making it the default choice for institutional adoption. Based on this, ETH will be repriced in 2026, standing alongside BTC as an "institutional-grade store of value asset."
The blockchain ecosystem will have more than one store of value asset: BTC has established itself as "digital gold," while ETH becomes "digital oil" — a yield-bearing, utility-driven store of value asset with an underlying ecosystem powering economic activity.
MicroStrategy, as the company holding the most Bitcoin, led the process of BTC becoming a store of value asset. Over the past four years, MicroStrategy has continuously incorporated BTC into its treasury assets, advocating for BTC's value proposition, making it a core category for institutional digital asset holdings.
Now, the Ethereum ecosystem has seen the emergence of 4 "MicroStrategy-like" companies, driving a similar breakthrough 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 BTC's circulating supply. The aforementioned four companies holding ETH have collectively purchased approximately 4.5% of ETH's circulating supply in the past 6 months — and this process has only just begun.
As these four companies continue to incorporate ETH into their balance sheets, institutional ownership stakes in these ETH-holding companies is rapidly increasing, and ETH is expected to be repriced, standing alongside BTC as an institutional-grade store of value asset.
Ethereum 2026 Prediction: 5x Growth
Tokenized Assets: 5x Growth to $100 Billion
In 2025, the total value of tokenized assets on blockchain grew from approximately $6 billion to over $18 billion, with 66% deployed on Ethereum and its Layer2 networks.
The global financial system has only just begun the process of asset tokenization, with institutions like JPMorgan, BlackRock, and Fidelity already using Ethereum as the default platform for high-value tokenized assets.
We predict that the total scale of tokenized assets will achieve 5x growth in 2026, reaching nearly $100 billion, with the vast majority deployed on the Ethereum network.
Stablecoins: 5x Growth to $1.5 Trillion
Currently, the total scale of stablecoins on public blockchains is $308 billion, with about 60% deployed on Ethereum and its Layer2 networks (if Ethereum Virtual Machine compatible chains that may become Ethereum Layer2s in the future are included, this proportion reaches 90%).
Stablecoins have become a strategic asset for the US government. The US Treasury has repeatedly stated that stablecoins are a core measure to consolidate the dollar's dominance in the 21st century. Currently, the total US dollar circulation is $22.3 trillion. With the landing of the GENIUS Act and the large-scale application of stablecoins, it is expected that 20%-30% of US dollars will migrate to public blockchains.
We predict that the total market capitalization of stablecoins will achieve 5x growth in 2026, reaching $1.5 trillion, and Ethereum will play a leading role in this process.
ETH: 5x Growth to $15,000
ETH is rapidly developing into an institutional-grade store of value asset alongside BTC. ETH is a "call option" on the growth of blockchain technology, and its value appreciation will benefit from the following trends:
- The scaling expansion of asset tokenization
- The widespread application of stablecoins
- The process of institutional adoption of blockchain
- The "ChatGPT moment" for the financial system's upgrade to the internet era (referring to the inflection point of industry change brought by technological breakthrough)
Holding ETH is equivalent to holding a share of the "new financial internet." The logic for its value growth is clear: increases in user base, asset scale, number of applications, Layer2 networks, and transaction frequency will all drive the value of ETH higher.
We predict that ETH will achieve at least a 5x value increase in 2026 (market capitalization reaching $2 trillion, equivalent to BTC's current market cap), ushering in ETH's "NVIDIA moment" (referring to a key phase of explosive growth similar to NVIDIA's due to the AI wave).
Ethereum: The Best Platform for Business
By 2026, the discussion of "why adopt blockchain" is a thing of the past. Now, institutions are fully competing in asset tokenization, stablecoin application, and customized blockchain deployment; the structural upgrade of the global financial system has already begun.
When choosing blockchain infrastructure, institutions prioritize factors including: long-term operational history, application precedents, security, liquidity, availability, and risk level — and Ethereum performs optimally in all dimensions. Ethereum is the ideal choice if an enterprise has the following needs:
- Increase profit margins? Achievable through asset tokenization to reduce costs, using stablecoins to reduce fees, and building a dedicated blockchain based on Ethereum.
- Open up new revenue streams? Possible by building structured products on the Ethereum platform, launching new types of assets, issuing own stablecoins.
- Achieve business digital upgrade? Can leverage Ethereum to optimize operational processes, automate accounting and payments, and reduce manual reconciliation work.
2025 was an inflection point for Ethereum's development: infrastructure upgrades were finalized, institutional pilot projects were scaled, and the regulatory environment turned favorable.
In 2026, the global financial system will experience its "internet moment" — and this transformation will occur on Ethereum, the best platform for conducting business.
