$ETH Currently, Liquid Collective — a protocol jointly developed with Alluvial to simplify institutional staking — holds ETH worth 492 million dollars.

Although this figure may seem modest compared to the total staking volume in Ethereum, which amounts to about 93 billion dollars, it is interesting to note that it is primarily generated by institutional investors.

"We are really on the verge of a truly significant change for Ethereum, driven by regulatory measures and the possibility of leveraging the benefits of secure staking," he noted.

A key point in Ethereum's institutional readiness is the recent Pectra upgrade — a significant event that Schmidt describes as both "large-scale" and "underappreciated."

"I think Pectra is a serious upgrade. In fact, I believe it is underappreciated, simply because it brings enormous changes to the mechanics of staking," Schmidt said.

Additionally, the withdrawal of funds through the Execution Layer — a key component of Pectra — offers institutional players, including ETF issuers, a crucial compatibility upgrade.

This feature allows for partial withdrawals of validators directly from the transaction execution layer in Ethereum, in accordance with institutional operational requirements, such as T+1 redemption terms.