Authors: Isabelle Lee, Muyao Shen, Bloomberg
Translated by: Saoirse, Foresight News
Translator's Note: As ETH surged 75% to near historical highs since June, a capital feast around Ethereum is quietly spreading to Wall Street. In the old bank hall of Manhattan, cryptocurrency advocates are proclaiming the arrival of a new financial era—this time, the protagonist is no longer Bitcoin, but Ethereum, seen as a 'programmable ledger.' From companies holding over $6 billion in ETH to institutions attempting to incorporate it into mainstream financial products, capital is betting that Ethereum is not just a speculative tool, but may become the core infrastructure connecting Wall Street and new technologies. Behind this 'locking competition' is a struggle for the future financial order and yet another challenge posed by cryptocurrency to the traditional financial system.
Last week, this gathering in the grand hall of Cipriani 42nd Street in Manhattan was given special significance by cryptocurrency supporters. Beneath marble columns and crystal chandeliers, they proclaimed that a new financial era beyond Bitcoin has already arrived.
On August 12, 2025, at the 'NextFin NYC' event, part of the 'Ethereum NYC 2025' conference series. Photo: Isabelle Lee/Bloomberg
Just days ago, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency ETH surged about 75% since June, with prices nearing historical peaks. At this moment, executives from the digital asset field gathered at the old site of the Bowery Savings Bank, both to celebrate a phase victory and to send a clear signal to the financial world: Ethereum is by no means an ordinary speculative tool, but the core of the future monetary system; if companies include it in their capital reserves, it may accelerate the realization of this vision.
Tom Lee, chairman of BitMine Immersion Technologies, who took the stage to speak, is a staunch proponent of this concept. This company, once obscure on Wall Street, now holds over $6 billion worth of Ethereum, with a clear and bold strategy: not only to hold Ethereum but also to build a complete business ecosystem around it. Tom Lee repeatedly emphasized in public speeches: "Ethereum will be the intersection of Wall Street and artificial intelligence."
This assertion may seem radical, as the main activities on the Ethereum network currently still revolve around token trading among cryptocurrency users. But in Tom Lee's view, the underlying logic is self-evident: unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum is not just a currency; it is also a programmable distributed ledger. Software programs known as 'smart contracts' can run automatically on it, completing transactions, interest payments, or loan management operations without the need for bank intervention.
People use it to exchange, transfer stablecoins, or obtain crypto-collateralized loans, and each transaction requires payment in Ethereum as a fee. The more enterprises and projects rely on its infrastructure, the stronger the demand for Ethereum becomes. If corporate fund managers who quietly accumulate Ethereum make the right judgments, they can not only profit from price increases but also seize the architectural advantage before the future financial system takes shape.
Although Ethereum is still the most active blockchain based on on-chain transaction volume, it faces dual challenges: on the one hand, competitors like Solana are rising with faster speeds and lower costs (its price has reached new highs this year); on the other hand, the market still lacks steadfast buyers for sustained entry. Tom Lee and Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin believe that corporate reserve plans are a structural solution to the demand problem—by locking in supply, they can build a solid bottom support for the market.
"The circulating supply of Ethereum is still large," Lubin stated during an interview with Bloomberg in July, "It's like a race: if we and more projects lock up a large amount of Ethereum, it will greatly improve the supply-demand dynamic."
However, this vision is facing another kind of resistance: financial giants are building private 'blockchain tracks'. Stablecoin issuer Circle is constructing its own network, bypassing the shared infrastructure model advocated by Ethereum by lowering fees and retaining customers. If this trend of privatization continues, Ethereum may be excluded from the system it hopes to empower. According to reports from Bloomberg terminals, payment giant Stripe is also taking similar actions.
The strategy of companies reserving Ethereum is directly inspired by Michael Saylor, the most well-known promoter of Bitcoin. In 2020, Saylor transformed Strategy Inc. into a quasi-Bitcoin ETF, accumulating a stash of Bitcoin worth $72 billion. Although the scale of Bitcoin mining is small (only accounting for 1% of Ethereum's circulation), the ambition is significant: to lock in enough assets to make scarcity a natural moat. Tom Lee predicts that if Wall Street massively enters Ethereum projects, its price may soar from the current approximately $4,300 to $60,000. However, Saylor's success coincided with a historic bull market for cryptocurrencies, and whether Ethereum can replicate this path remains in doubt.
"Michael Saylor of Strategy proved over four years that holding underlying assets has immense value; and through the Ethereum reserve strategy, leveraging well-liquidated public companies can create value for shareholders far exceeding the underlying asset itself," said Joseph Chalom, co-CEO of Sharplink Gaming, on a Bloomberg TV program. This former BlackRock executive has helped the world's largest asset management company launch an Ethereum ETF (code ETHA), and now SharpLink has accumulated over $3 billion in Ethereum.
Supporters believe that data is quite advantageous for Ethereum: the supply of Ethereum is already relatively low, and a portion of the transaction fees is permanently destroyed; over time, its total amount may even decrease; and the long-term reserve behavior of companies will further exacerbate this scarcity. However, skeptics point out another cyclical risk: just as companies may be decisive in buying, they may also be quick to sell, which could amplify market downward volatility.
"The crypto circle favors reserve-type companies because they believe they will only continue to buy and hold," analyzed Omid Malekan, an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School, "but there is no free lunch. Most people overlook a possibility: if the future encounters a crypto bear market, these companies may begin to sell off."
Compared to Bitcoin, one of Ethereum's significant advantages lies in the 'staking' mechanism—locking in Ethereum to support the network operation can yield returns. This shifts it from a static commodity to a revenue-generating asset similar to dividend stocks. However, currently, mainstream ETF investors cannot directly access this part of the income.
According to regulatory documents from July, BlackRock is working with other issuers to promote the addition of staking functions to ETHA products, meaning retail investors can expect to obtain both price gains and staking returns through a single product. The fund has grown to $16 billion in just over a year.
Despite the active Ethereum ecosystem, it has not yet penetrated everyday financial scenarios: such as payments, shopping, or savings, and many tokenization projects on Wall Street are still in testing phases. However, Tom Lee believes the shift is already happening: AI companies, payment firms, and major financial institutions are taking the lead in building applications on Ethereum.
"I see multiple trends pushing Ethereum toward the most significant macro trading winds of the next 10 to 15 years," he said.
Today, supporters of Ethereum have extended from banking research departments to the political arena: a decentralized finance enterprise linked to the Trump camp, World Liberty Financial, disclosed this year that it purchased millions of dollars in Ethereum; Eric Trump, co-founder of American Bitcoin Corp. (a Bitcoin mining company associated with the Trump family), publicly praised its price surge; Standard Chartered raised its year-end target price from $4,000 to $7,500; Ark Investment Management also raised its long-term expectations.
The price increase is real, corporate holdings are undeniable, and the conviction is strong enough. But the true test for Ethereum is not whether it can continue to rise, but whether it can stand firm—whether companies can withstand the next crash, and whether tokens can surpass their positioning as speculative tools.
"Financial institutions see Ethereum as a natural choice," said Tomasz Stańczak, executive director of the Ethereum Foundation, "They are clear about what products they need to build, which aspects they can optimize, and where they can achieve efficiency leaps."
