Authors: Isabelle Lee, Muyao Shen, Bloomberg
Translation: Saoirse, Foresight News
Translator's note: As ETH has surged 75% since June to near historical highs, a capital feast surrounding Ethereum is quietly spreading to Wall Street. In the ancient banking hall of Manhattan, cryptocurrency advocates are proclaiming the arrival of a new financial era — this time, the protagonist is no longer Bitcoin, but Ethereum, regarded as a 'programmable ledger.' From companies holding over $6 billion in ETH to institutions attempting to integrate it into mainstream financial products, capital is betting that Ethereum is not just a speculative tool, but could become the core infrastructure connecting Wall Street with new technologies. This 'locking up competition' reflects a struggle for the future financial order and another assault by cryptocurrency on the traditional financial system.
Last week, this gathering in the grand hall of Cipriani 42nd Street in Manhattan was imbued with special significance by cryptocurrency supporters. Under marble columns and crystal chandeliers, they proclaimed the arrival of a new financial era that surpasses Bitcoin.
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, nearing historical peak prices. At this moment, executives from the digital asset sector gathered at the former site of the Bowery Savings Bank, both to celebrate a milestone victory and to send a clear message to the financial world: Ethereum is far from an ordinary speculative tool; it is the core of the future monetary system; if companies incorporate it into their capital reserves, it may accelerate the realization of this vision.
Tom Lee, chairman of BitMine Immersion Technologies, is a staunch advocate of this concept. This firm, once obscure on Wall Street, now holds more than $6 billion worth of Ethereum, with a clear and bold strategy: not just holding Ethereum, but building a complete business ecosystem around it. Tom Lee repeatedly emphasized in public statements: "Ethereum will be the intersection of Wall Street and artificial intelligence."
This assertion seems radical, as Ethereum's main activities currently revolve around token trading among cryptocurrency users. However, in Tom Lee's view, the underlying logic is evident: unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum is not only a currency but also a programmable distributed ledger. Software programs known as 'smart contracts' can automatically run on it, completing transaction processing, interest payments, or loan management operations without the need for bank intervention.
People use it to exchange, transfer stablecoins, or obtain crypto-collateralized loans, with each transaction requiring Ethereum as a fee. The more enterprises and projects that rely on its infrastructure, the greater the demand for Ethereum. If the corporate fund managers quietly hoarding Ethereum make the right judgments, they can not only profit from the price increases but also seize the structural advantage before the future financial system takes shape.
Although Ethereum remains the most active blockchain measured by on-chain transaction volume, it faces dual challenges: on one hand, competitors like Solana are rising with faster speeds and lower costs (its price hit a new high this year); on the other hand, the market continues to lack 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 — locking in supply to solidify market support.
"There is still a vast amount of Ethereum in circulation now," Lubin said in a July interview with Bloomberg, "It's like a race: if we and more projects lock up massive amounts of Ethereum, it would drastically improve the supply-demand landscape."
However, this vision is encountering another type of resistance: financial giants are building private 'blockchain tracks.' Stablecoin issuer Circle is constructing its own network, reducing fees and retaining customers while bypassing the shared infrastructure model promoted by Ethereum. If this privatization trend continues, Ethereum may be excluded from the very systems it seeks to empower. According to Bloomberg Terminal reports, payment giant Stripe is also taking similar actions.
The strategy of corporate reserves in Ethereum directly borrows from the most famous promoter of Bitcoin, Michael Saylor. In 2020, Saylor transformed Strategy Inc. into a quasi-Bitcoin ETF, accumulating $72 billion worth of Bitcoin. Although the scale of Bitcoin mining is small (accounting for only 1% of Ethereum's circulation), the ambition is significant: lock up enough assets to make scarcity a natural moat. Tom Lee predicts that if Wall Street heavily invests in Ethereum projects, its price could soar from about $4,300 to $60,000. However, Saylor's success coincided with a historic bull market for cryptocurrencies, and whether Ethereum can replicate that path remains uncertain.
"Michael Saylor of Strategy has proven over four years that holding underlying assets is immensely valuable; and through the Ethereum reserve strategy, leveraging well-capitalized public companies, can create value for shareholders far exceeding the underlying asset itself," said Joseph Chalom, co-CEO of Sharplink Gaming, in a Bloomberg TV interview. This former BlackRock executive 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 argue that data is a significant advantage for Ethereum: Ethereum's issuance is already low, and a portion of the transaction fees is permanently destroyed. Over time, this could even reduce the total supply; while companies' long-term reserve behavior will further exacerbate this scarcity. However, skeptics point out another cyclical risk: how decisive corporate holders are when buying may be matched by how quickly they can sell, potentially amplifying market downturns.
"The crypto circle favors reserve-type enterprises because they believe they will only continue to buy and hold," analyzed Omid Malekan, a part-time professor at Columbia Business School, "But there is no such thing as a free lunch. Most people overlook a possibility: if a crypto bear market occurs in the future, these enterprises might start selling."
Compared to Bitcoin, one significant advantage of Ethereum is its 'staking' mechanism — locking up Ethereum to support network operations can yield returns. This transforms it from a static commodity into a revenue-generating asset similar to dividend stocks. However, currently, mainstream ETF investors cannot directly access this portion of the revenue.
According to regulatory filings from July, BlackRock is working with other issuers to add staking functionality to the ETHA product, which means retail investors could potentially obtain price gains and staking returns through a single product. The fund has reached a scale of $16 billion in just over a year.
Despite the active Ethereum ecosystem, it has yet to penetrate everyday financial scenarios such as payments, shopping, or savings. Many tokenization projects on Wall Street are still in testing phases. However, Tom Lee believes a shift is happening: AI companies, payment firms, and large financial institutions are leading the way in building applications on Ethereum.
"I see multiple trends pushing Ethereum into the most significant macro trading opportunities of the next 10 to 15 years," he said.
Today, Ethereum supporters have extended from banking research departments to the political sphere: World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance firm linked to Trump’s camp, disclosed this year that it purchased millions of dollars worth of Ethereum; Eric Trump, co-founder of the American Bitcoin Corp. (a Bitcoin mining company associated with the Trump family), publicly cheered for its price surge; Standard Chartered Bank raised its year-end target price from $4,000 to $7,500; Ark Investment Management has also raised its long-term expectations.
The price increase is real, corporate holdings are undeniable, and the belief is strong enough. But the true test for Ethereum is not whether it can continue to rise, but whether it can stand firm — can enterprises survive the next round of downturns, and can the token transcend its positioning as a speculative tool?
"Financial institutions see Ethereum as the natural choice," said Tomasz Stańczak, executive director of the Ethereum Foundation, "They understand what products they need to build, which aspects can be optimized, and where efficiency leaps can be achieved."
