Since the birth of the genesis block in 2015, Ethereum has traveled a ten-year journey. Every transaction hash is a mark of time: the test transactions of early developers, the noisy traces of the ICO wave, the flood of funds during the DeFi explosion, the digital footprints of the NFT craze... These on-chain data connect the evolutionary history of the crypto world, hiding the ten-year story of blockchain from concept to implementation.
This issue of 'Creators Speak' focuses on 'Ethereum's 10th Anniversary'. We invited Ebunker, DMZ Finance, Oak Grove Ventures, Tian Daxia's Web3 Jianghu, Daii, RWA Knowledge Circle, and Cai Jie Web3 from the list of outstanding creators in Foresight News in July 2025 to join this discussion.
We raised the questions 'Your story with Ethereum', 'Which investment direction in the Ethereum ecosystem do you favor most?', 'How do you view the recent strength?', 'How to balance technical compliance?' and 'Price prediction after ten years'. Here are the answers we collected.
1. Ethereum is 10 years old. When did you first learn about Ethereum? Have you ever held it? Share your story with Ethereum.
Ebunker: Our story with Ethereum began in 2016-2017 and has spanned all subsequent ups and downs. Among the Ebunker team, some core members participated in CryptoKitties and MyEtherWallet back in 2017, while others first felt the real financial application value of Ethereum when they started their node business during the 2020 DeFi Summer.
Ebunker was officially established on September 15, 2022, which was also the day Ethereum successfully completed the Merge switch to PoS. We chose to launch on this day, both to pay tribute to this unprecedented technical migration and to take on our mission of 'guarding Ethereum's security with infrastructure'.
Now, we have operated over 400,000 non-custodial validation nodes. These on-chain records are the testimony of our journey with Ethereum.
DMZ Finance: I probably first truly began to understand Ethereum about five years ago. I have a friend who is a fervent ETH supporter, almost daily advocating its technical vision and investment opportunities. The first tokenized money market fund QCDT launched by DMZ in collaboration with QNB will also be deployed on Ethereum.
Oak Grove Ventures: I first encountered Ethereum in early 2017. At that time, it was just 'another cryptocurrency beyond Bitcoin', labeled as a 'decentralized scaling engine'. I did not have a clear concept of smart contracts and ecological potential back then; I was just vaguely watching its increasing discussion within the community. My first real holding of ETH was during the ICO frenzy in 2017. During that time, almost all new projects issued tokens based on Ethereum, and I frequently participated in investments amidst one wave after another of excitement. The price of ETH rose from 100 yuan to 10,000 yuan, and I first felt the wealth effect brought by the explosive growth of public chain ecosystems. By the time of the 2020 DeFi Summer and NFT craze, I witnessed Ethereum's iteration again—from initially just a financing tool as the 'underlying chain' to becoming the core stage for decentralized finance and digital assets, Ethereum truly began to demonstrate its potential as a 'world computer'.
Tian Daxia's Web3 Jianghu: It was probably in 2017 when I was still studying computer science, and my teacher introduced it to me. Then I mined for a few days with my friends, but I didn't persist. Then over the years, I have either held Ethereum or not, and this year, during the turbulence, I exited and am no longer a loyal E guardian.
But I have a friend who is a loyal E guardian! A few months ago, when Ethereum was at 3600, he opened a 40X long position, and when Ethereum dropped to 1400 USD, he still held on. I became the encourager for this E guardian friend, cheering him on every day, and after a few months, I was happy to see him successfully escape the loss in July and even make a profit.
Daii: In 2017, that was the darkest year of my life, but it was also the starting point where my fate was completely rewritten. That year, I was first attracted to the blockchain world by Ethereum, and later studied Bitcoin. To be precise, it was Ethereum that led me into the entire crypto universe.
Without hesitation, I divided all idle funds into two parts, half to buy Bitcoin and half to buy Ethereum. At that time, this was not based on any deep deliberation, but an almost instinctive belief—I knew I had found something worth investing in.
Looking back, I am not only an early holder but also a builder of the Ethereum ecosystem. On February 13, 2018, I personally translated the Ethereum white paper into a bilingual version, which has since been read 36,000 times.
In addition, I was the first to propose that Ethereum is even more decentralized than Bitcoin—of course, this is not just casual talk, but based on quantitative research using the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI). I organized this research process into an article titled (Decentralization, the Engineering Art of Survivors).
Earlier this year, I wrote (Hold on, Ethereum is about to take off), and that article was like a horn to board the train early, pouring my confidence in Ethereum's future into it.
RWA Knowledge Circle: I first paid attention to Ethereum in early 2017, when I was researching the Bitcoin scaling controversy and started encountering different types of blockchain projects. At that time, the concept of Ethereum's smart contracts made a significant impact on me—it is not just a supplement to 'digital gold', but an operating system that can deploy decentralized applications. Since then, I gradually became involved and have held ETH. Initially out of technical curiosity, now I am more of a long-term observer, continuously paying attention to its evolutionary trajectory, EIP proposal governance mechanisms, and ecological prosperity. The story of Ethereum is not just about the price fluctuations of a token, but rather a process of ongoing negotiation between decentralized consensus, global open finance, and technological ideals.
Cai Jie Web3: I first learned about Ethereum around 2021, when the price was around 2700. At that time, I was busy with my main job and had no interest or time to understand blockchain. During a friends' dinner, it was mentioned, and I immediately downloaded OKX, loaded funds, and bought 3000 USD worth. So, ETH is my first investment.
2. Based on the diverse development of the Ethereum ecosystem, which specific investment directions do you favor the most? What assets do you hold? Which asset categories do you think can best capture the ecosystem's growth dividends?
Ebunker: If the keyword of the last cycle was LST, then the three asset directions we are optimistic about next are:
PoS infrastructure assets: such as native staking ETH, local liquid staking tokens (Lido, EtherFi), and other assets that can benefit from the underlying dividends of Ethereum network growth.
Yield enhancement assets: increasing annualized returns through restaking and reinvestment (such as circular loans), bringing expansions to capital efficiency.
On-chain 'productive assets': protocol equity assets that can create continuous cash flow or dividend income, such as governance tokens that return protocol income and node operation income certificates, such as AAVE, UNI, etc.
Ebunker itself is also deeply involved in the construction of LST and DeFi infrastructure, continuously capturing early value opportunities in such assets.
DMZ Finance: I am most optimistic about RWA. From the perspective of capturing ecosystem dividends, asset categories with real use cases are more likely to traverse bull and bear markets and continuously release value.
Oak Grove Ventures: In the past decade of the Ethereum ecosystem, I have witnessed the L2 scaling and modularization from early explorations to today’s maturity. Although the token prices of L2 projects have fluctuated, it is undeniable that they have greatly improved user experience and have continuously expanded the user scale and liquidity of the entire ecosystem. Meanwhile, DeFi infrastructure is constantly iterating. From decentralized stablecoins to on-chain liquidity management, to restaking protocols represented by EigenLayer, these innovations are reshaping Ethereum’s yield structure and security model. Looking further ahead, the new paradigm of on-chain assets deserves attention: RWA and the on-chain bond market are slowly bridging traditional finance and the on-chain world. Coupled with the integration of AI and crypto, whether it is decentralized AI services or on-chain inference verification, there are opportunities for new application inflection points in the future.
Based on these trends, my asset allocation leans more towards:
Core asset ETH: As the fuel for Ethereum and the core source of staking yields, its long-term value is beyond doubt—I consider myself a steadfast 'E guardian'.
Blue-chip DeFi protocols: Leading projects have demonstrated strong resilience through multiple market fluctuations, making them a priority option for stable layouts.
In my view, ETH is not only the foundation of Ethereum's operation but also the core asset that can best capture the ecosystem's growth dividends.
Tian Daxia's Web3 Jianghu: Based on the diverse development of the Ethereum ecosystem, which specific investment directions do you favor the most? What assets do you hold? Which asset categories do you think can best capture the ecosystem's growth dividends?
I personally still feel that DeFi is one of Ethereum's core lifelines. From the early Uniswap, Compound, Aave, the entire financial system has been reinvented on-chain. Those protocols that can genuinely 'run' still have strong vitality in the long run.
Recently, the direction of stablecoins has also suddenly heated up, especially with the emergence of new stable mechanisms on Ethereum, reigniting the market's imagination for a 'on-chain dollar system'. Coupled with regulatory clarity, the acceptance of compliant stablecoins is also increasingly high. In terms of assets, L2 projects are also making moves, such as Arbitrum, Optimism, and new plays of DeFi blue chips and stablecoins are also being attempted.
Daii: In my view, the development of the Ethereum ecosystem is like a giant tree continuously extending outward, with each track resembling a new branch. I was once optimistic about restaking, and currently, I am optimistic about stablecoins.
Although restaking is gradually calming in terms of public opinion, the yields it provides are real and substantial, serving as a solid source of underlying income. The stablecoin sector is entering an explosive period, especially against the backdrop of gradually clearer regulations, compliant stablecoins are becoming the main battlefield for the new round of capital migration.
Of course, for ordinary people, the most valuable way to participate in the ecosystem is to actively engage in various project constructions, allowing them to obtain a large number of airdrops. This is the direction I have long insisted on, and it is also the important foundation for building a service system. I always adhere to the strategy of 'controlling the position of individual projects and actively participating in early construction', keeping myself at the doorstep of new opportunities.
My largest airdrop so far came from dYdX, amounting to six figures. Interestingly, this return was not something I deliberately pursued, but because I initially saw the potential of perpetual contracts and made a few trades, that’s all. At that moment I realized that the chain remembers every little thing you have done.
RWA Knowledge Circle: The structure of the Ethereum ecosystem is shifting from 'DeFi first' to 'multi-layer capital and real asset interaction'. I personally favor several directions:
On-chain real-world assets (RWA): Especially the digital issuance and management of high-frequency assets such as credit certificates, commodities, and accounts receivable. The on-chain expansion of RWA can effectively attract traditional capital and stabilize users.
Restaking and modular verification: The reconstruction of the validation market driven by EigenLayer will bring new infrastructure dividends.
Account abstraction and on-chain identity systems (such as ERC-4337 and ZK verification): They are the technical prerequisites for on-chain scaling and popularization.
In terms of assets, in addition to holding ETH, I have also allocated some L2 mainnet assets, staking derivatives (such as Lido's stETH), and tokens from some early participating on-chain RWA projects.
The asset category that can best capture ecosystem dividends is no longer a single token but rather equity assets that can be deeply bound to the protocol's growth over the long term, such as staking certificates, LP tokens, and on-chain real asset certificates.
Cai Jie Web3: Ethereum is still the largest smart contract ecosystem, with a plethora of projects. However, after seeing the blooming flowers, I still favor the two directions of DEX and Lending. My judgment logic is simple: real and sustained customer demand + good user experience. I currently only hold some ETH and AAVE. Regarding the ecosystem's growth dividends, my perspective is not short-term and rapid but long-term and steady. From this perspective, there is too much bubble, and caution is required when investing.
3. Ethereum's recent strong performance is closely tied to the continuous accumulation and acceleration of compliance by institutions, public companies, and whales. How do you view these changes?
Ebunker: We believe that Ethereum is gradually becoming a core allocation asset recognized by institutions:
The pace of institutional accumulation has clearly accelerated: especially after the approval of ETFs, the large net inflows observable on-chain differ significantly from the historically retail-dominated peaks.
The staking rate is steadily rising, driving supply tightening: currently, the ETH staking rate is close to 30%. Coupled with active L2 and destruction mechanisms, Ethereum is becoming a long-term value asset that 'can continuously generate income while reducing total supply through destruction mechanisms'.
Whales prefer to participate in staking through non-custodial means: some large buyers that Ebunker has recently engaged with have viewed non-custodial yield strategies as 'an important reason for their long-term holding of ETH'.
The clarification of compliance is the premise for traditional capital to join the Ethereum narrative. And we are witnessing this paradigm officially land.
DMZ Finance: This is a signal—on-chain narratives are accelerating their integration with mainstream financial narratives. As Cathy Wood has always emphasized, 'the financial infrastructure attributes of Ethereum' bring not only constraints but also certainty. With the emergence of coin-stock linkage and RWA models, Ethereum is gradually becoming the 'bridging protocol of traditional finance', and we are witnessing a new financial narrative driven by technology accelerate its landing.
Oak Grove Ventures: It is undeniable that the development of crypto needs to leverage momentum and deeply integrate with traditional finance. The recent strong performance of ETH is inseparable from the continued accumulation by institutions and public companies, especially after the landing of ETFs and the maturity of compliance staking solutions.
The entry of institutional funds is not just a price catalyst, but also promotes the maturity and upgrading of governance structures and infrastructure.
However, it is worth noting that compliance will bring about a certain tendency towards centralization, which may create tension with the community's decentralization philosophy. This will be a long-term and subtle game, concerning both ecological security and faith preservation.
Tian Daxia's Web3 Jianghu: On the one hand, we finally see mainstream capital recognizing blockchain technology: they are not only willing to buy ETH but also willing to participate in staking and building the ecosystem. This recognition actually conveys a very clear signal: Ethereum is no longer a 'marginal narrative' but one of the alternatives on the main stage. On the other hand, after institutions enter, liquidity has arrived, and compliance has become stricter, but the space that originally represented freedom and experimentation is also gradually shrinking. This subtle trend of 'becoming more centralized' is something we need to be vigilant about.
Daii: I have always believed that a truly valuable technology will eventually reconcile with the mainstream world. Now that I see institutions and public companies starting to continuously accumulate ETH, it shows that Ethereum's value is gaining broader recognition.
In the past, we often said that 'decentralization is a replacement for traditional finance', but now I prefer to say that they are amplifiers for each other. Once the potential of DeFi is recognized, TradFi will become its booster, and ETFs are the most important components of the amplifier.
For ordinary people, the simplest way is to go with the flow and seize opportunities to get on board. The most scientific and easiest method to stick with remains DCA—Dollar-Cost Averaging. You don’t need to constantly watch the market, nor do you need to predict tops and bottoms; you just need to turn off your emotions and turn on your discipline during each market fluctuation.
RWA Knowledge Circle: This is a necessary phase for Ethereum's 'coming of age'. On the one hand, it indicates that it is gradually becoming the technical foundation of the global mainstream financial system; ETF, institutional custody, and even corporate on-chain bond issuance all provide realistic landing scenarios. On the other hand, it means that Ethereum is being incorporated into the global financial regulatory system. This change will reduce its 'absolute decentralization' purity, but what it may gain is a broader adoption base. Compliance does not necessarily mean compromise; as long as Ethereum's core openness and censorship resistance are not lost, it remains a trustworthy public computing platform.
Cai Jie Web3: Human nature remains unchanged, and investment is as ancient as hills. The fact that Ethereum can exist continuously for so many years is already a remarkable achievement. Even if its recent performance has been weak, it does not obscure the fact that it is the pioneer of smart contracts and has the largest number of ecological participants. Of course, the recent price increase has prompted people to find reasons to explain it, but when we lengthen the timeline, this is merely a normal fluctuation.
4. According to the Ethereum Foundation's roadmap, by 2030, sharding technology will achieve 100,000+ TPS, and zero-knowledge proofs will be popularized, possibly forming a symbiotic network with AI. But will regulatory pressure (such as the SEC's restrictions on staking yields and the EU's MiCA legislation) limit its innovative space? Can Ethereum find a balance between technical ideals and real-world compliance? When will its vision of a world computer be realized?
Ebunker: The greatest advantage of Ethereum has never been a breakthrough in a single technology but its ecological adaptability that allows for continuous trial and error and self-correction.
This also allows Ethereum to quickly form community consensus and make flexible technical and architectural responses when facing global compliance challenges such as the SEC and MiCA. For example:
The promotion of ZK technology prioritizes achieving compatibility with existing ecosystems (such as zkEVM), and gradually expands to a more general zkVM route based on this.
Balancing L1 and L2. Ethereum has resumed promoting L1 scaling, using various means such as client updates and gas limits, resulting in an actual increase of more than 50% in mainnet TPS; at the same time, the success of L2 strategies has turned many potential competitors into partners within the ecosystem that use Ethereum as DA, allowing traditional enterprises and financial giants to have their own chains while gaining the security and ecological support of Ethereum.
Ethereum did not become a 'world computer' all at once, but is continuously building an open network that is composable, scalable, and governable. It is this long-termism and evolutionary technical path that brings it closer to the ideal endpoint.
DMZ Finance: Innovation and compliance are not inherently opposed. I believe Ethereum's technical route is clear and robust, and its vision of a 'world computer' is no longer far away but is continuously approaching reality. The Ethereum of the future may be an infrastructure adopted by institutions, understood by regulators, yet still retaining its spirit of openness.
Oak Grove Ventures: According to the foundation's roadmap, by 2030, sharding and zero-knowledge proofs are expected to mature, and TPS may exceed 100,000. This means Ethereum will evolve from a DApp platform to an open network that can interact in real time with AI and IoT, further approaching the vision of a 'world computer'. However, regulatory pressures still exist, such as the SEC's restrictions on staking yields and MiCA's requirements for compliance issuance, which may constrain some innovative models, especially high-yield derivative protocols and cross-chain anonymous finance.
I tend to believe that Ethereum will take a 'dual-track path': 'compliance track + decentralization track'. This game and differentiation may be the starting point of the next era.
Tian Daxia's Web3 Jianghu: Regulatory pressure will certainly continue to exist, but I believe it can achieve balance—because its technical design has enough flexibility to continuously explore a path of 'being seen by regulators but not completely defined'.
Daii: Once the Ethereum mainnet expands, the 'write-back channel' between L1 and L2 will be wider, making Rollup operations cheaper while raising the value level of the mainnet; although most L2 assets will still be pegged to Ethereum, the decentralization of the sequencer is still in progress, and this concentration risk will take time to resolve.
AI is the most powerful centralized service facility of our time. So far, I have not found a good decentralized AI solution, and I have been searching for one.
The SEC's questioning of staking yields may not be a bad thing, as it could likely facilitate the formal release of ETH staking ETFs. After all, looking at the 'Howey Test', it is difficult to directly apply it to an open network like Ethereum.
Privacy is also a regulatory focus, but we have already seen projects like Privacy Pool actively seeking change: they attempt to chart a compliant path by refusing to interact with certain high-risk addresses. This is a rare spirit of realism. After all, blockchain does not exist in a vacuum; how to dance with reality tests the wisdom and resilience of the entire ecosystem.
RWA Knowledge Circle: From a technical perspective, Ethereum indeed has a clear evolution path: Danksharding + zkRollup scalability continues to enhance; AI and blockchain may also converge in areas such as trusted reasoning, on-chain model pricing, and data rights confirmation. However, this transformation cannot occur independently of regulation. If Ethereum wants to truly become a 'world computer', it must interface with the legal world on certain levels. This means that its contract mechanisms, asset issuance, and user access mechanisms will be more 'modular' rather than 'absolutely free'.
A 'dual-track ecosystem' may emerge in the future: the core protocol remains neutral and open, while peripheral applications are built to comply with regulatory needs (similar to an OFAC compliance pool).
As for the realization of the world computer, I believe it is not a single point in time but a continuous process: when Ethereum becomes the default settlement layer for 80% of emerging on-chain applications, when cross-domain off-chain data can be effectively verified on-chain, when users can complete an on-chain interaction without feeling it—then the vision of the world computer is close.
Cai Jie Web3: Just as dirt cannot block a seed's sprouting, regulation has never restricted true innovation. Finding a balance between technological ideals and real-world compliance is not something only Ethereum is doing; Ethereum participants may also be participants in other ecosystems. Ultimately, the perfect answer may not necessarily be delivered solely by Ethereum, but it will definitely be the result of the collective efforts of many people. This is also the charm of blockchain technology: openness, freedom, and competition.
5. How much do you think Ethereum's price can reach in ten years?
Ebunker: We are more inclined to believe that Ethereum will eventually break through its historical peak.
But more important than the numbers is that Ethereum is transitioning from a 'narrative' to 'infrastructure', and more traditional financial giants are choosing to issue RWA on Ethereum, which also allows Ethereum to transform from a narrative asset into real, configurable digital production materials. In ten years, it may not necessarily be the hottest token, but it will definitely still be one of the core protocol assets in the crypto world.
DMZ Finance: If we consider Ethereum as the infrastructure of a new financial system, then its valuation logic far exceeds the current market consensus. Although I am not inclined to make specific price predictions, I can say for sure that the value of ETH is more than just 'assets', but rather the infrastructure of the entire on-chain financial ecosystem.
Oak Grove Ventures: Looking back at historical price trends:
Public testing started in 2015, when the price was less than $1;
During the ICO frenzy in 2017, ETH skyrocketed from $7-8 to $756+ by the end of the year;
In 2018, it fell to about $133;
During the bull market of 2020-2021, it reached highs of $3,600-$4,800;
In the bear market of 2022, it fell back to about $1,200;
In 2023-2024, it rebounded to around $3,300, currently slightly below $3,500 (with a high point of about $3,938 in the first half of 2025)
In 2025, it rebounded to around 4000, with expectations of Fed rate cuts.
If the roadmap progresses smoothly, accompanied by L2 scaling, on-chain economic prosperity, and enhanced network effects, I think it is reasonable to expect ETH to reach $15,000–$20,000 in ten years.
Tian Daxia's Web3 Jianghu: Let's go for it! First, break through 5000 USD and then talk!
Daii: If I had to give a number, I would say $100,000 per token. This number is not fanciful but an extrapolation of historical trends.
Once the world confirms that 'crypto assets are a hedge against fiat currency depreciation', and ETH possesses a healthy deflationary mechanism, it will naturally become the next reservoir of global assets.
RWA Knowledge Circle: Price prediction has never been my main focus, but I can say that the long-term value of Ethereum should not be measured solely by 'monetary value'. It is more like a 'governance right of a global digital operating system'. If it continues to deliver in terms of technical scaling, protocol governance, and compliance bridging, ETH in the future could become the 'central bank asset' of the on-chain financial market, or even a unit of on-chain valuation. Compared to the market capitalization of major global assets, it has the potential space of hundreds of billions or even trillions of dollars. But the final price is determined by two factors: whether users continue to choose it and whether a globally compatible system and technology ecosystem is built.
Cai Jie Web3: It’s hard to say. In my view, Ethereum and Bitcoin have different missions; the former is functional and can be used in many business scenarios, while the latter is a store of value. To make people really willing to use ETH daily in ten years (not just for trading), its price should not be too high, so I believe ETH's price will have a ceiling.