Since the US SEC approved Ethereum spot ETFs in April 2025, several listed companies and financial institutions globally have publicly disclosed or been captured by on-chain data, continuously increasing their ETH holdings, including but not limited to the following cases:
South Korean listed company Hanwha Investment & Securities has been reported to increase its ETH holdings through its subsidiary, intending to lay out Web3 fund products;
US-listed company Semler Scientific (SMLR) is considering expanding to ETH while disclosing its Bitcoin holdings;
Canadian listed mining company Hive Digital is adjusting its mining strategy to include ETH staking and related revenue strategies;
Some US-listed ETF funds (such as Bitwise, Grayscale) have begun to reconfigure their holdings structure, increasing the weight of ETH;
Blockchain data platform Nansen reports that some anonymous addresses (highly correlated with institutional wallets) have accumulated over 200,000 ETH in the past month.
Why are so many companies betting on 'ETH' now? What are the core driving factors behind this?
1. The US SEC approved the first batch of Ethereum spot ETFs in July 2024, and after adding options ETFs in April 2025, how will the funding continue? Institutions generally increase their allocation to ETH tools to gain liquidity and asset diversification;
2. The Ethereum burning mechanism (EIP-1559 legacy) brings about net deflation, with staking annualized returns of 3-4% providing stable cash flow attractiveness, making it closer to a 'digital cash-like asset';
3. The Pectra upgrade completed in early May enhances L2 support and validator efficiency, solidifying ETH's role as an underlying asset; BlackRock and others will launch tokenized assets (such as US Treasuries) based on ETH.
The market significance and future direction of Ethereum ETH:
Asset structure differentiation: ETH possesses both store of value and yield functions, making its positioning more flexible compared to BTC.
Deepening financial products: ETFs, options, and tokenized assets are gradually enriching the ETH institutional pathway.
Ecological expansion expectations: The integration of Ethereum's underlying layer and L2 is strengthening, with network activity and Gas consumption on the rise, building momentum for medium to long-term growth.
Regulation is gradually becoming clear: The SEC has approved recent ETF products and supports staking, with a stabilizing regulatory framework.
Personal view: 2024 is the halving year for Bitcoin, marking a bullish market for Bitcoin with new highs. 2025 is the year Ethereum completes its upgrades; in terms of project market capitalization and popularity, this year's Ethereum has greater growth potential and better cost-effectiveness compared to Bitcoin!