Some 70 corporations and organizations – mostly US-based – are quietly leading what some analysts are calling one of the most consequential shifts in corporate finance. These entities have been stockpiling ETH, the cryptocurrency that governs the Ethereum blockchain, and now holdmore than $17 billion worth of ETH directly, while ETFs account for another $25 billion. Together, close to 10% of ETH’s circulating supply is now under institutional control.
Why are these firms betting big on ETH?
For one, unlike Bitcoin which often sits idle on corporate balance sheets, Ethereum treasuries are yield-bearing assets. This is done through staking, which is a prominent aspect of the Ethereum protocol. As Forbes explains, staking is like putting money in a savings account, but instead of a bank paying you, the Ethereum network pays you for helping to keep it running.
“This is not speculation. It is balance sheet engineering. By staking or lending ETH, treasuries reduce circulating liquidity while creating new sources of revenue.”
Major ETH treasury firms such as BitMine and SharpLink are now staking billions of dollars of ETH to generate predictable income streams – about 3-5% annual yield. Lending ETH on DeFi protocols can capture much larger yield. ETH can also be collateralized for credit, or structured into financial products.
A combination that traditional finance has never been able to offer
According to Mati Greenspan, founder and CEO of Quantum Economics, who was quoted in a recent Forbes article:
“Liquid staking captures the true magic of internet money and delivers it to asset managers on a silver platter. Institutional funds can now hold Ethereum that grows in value while staying liquid, a combination that traditional finance has never been able to offer. It is no wonder this strategy is spreading like wildfire across the globe.”
Firms applying ETH staking strategies are not just about squeezing out returns – they point to a deeper shift in how companies treat digital assets. As Forbes reports:
“ETH is not simply something to hold on the side of the balance sheet. It is becoming a productive working asset. For investors, that means ETH is starting to look less like a speculative token and more like a hybrid between a growth stock and a bond — combining upside with regular yield. For businesses, it means treasury management is evolving. Where once the choice was between cash, bonds, or equities, ETH now represents a new category.”
A transformative shift
Another reason that firms are going big on ETH is to capitalize on the “blockchainization” of traditional finance. Already, a number of blockchain innovators are offering tokenized versions of stocks, while recently Nasdaq has sought SEC approval to tokenize all of its equities. This would allow the 24/7 trading of Nasdaq equities on the blockchain – the first of its kind – and would allow instant settlement and programmable ownership. According to insiders, tokenization and settlement would occur on the Ethereum blockchain.
Meanwhile in Singapore, the city-state’s largest bank is set to tokenize structured notes on the Ethereum network.
Globally, over 51% of stablecoins currently run on the Ethereum network, making it the backbone of the stablecoin ecosystem.
Reshaping finance and the biggest macro trade for the next decade
Moreover, Ethereum is forming the backbone of the rapidly growing decentralized finance ecosystem with real utility for lending, borrowing, and payments without traditional banks. Ethereum – and other blockchains such as XRP Ledger and Solana, are reshaping finance and squeezing out the jurassic traditional banking system, which still uses technology from the 1960s for cross border payments.
ETH advocate and chief information officer of Fundstrat Capital, Thomas Lee, is calling ETH the biggest macro trade “for the next 10 to 15 years as AI creates a token economy on the blockchain and as Wall Street financializes on the blockchain.” Lee described stablecoin development as the “ChatGPT moment for crypto,” driving unprecedented Wall Street interest in building on Ethereum’s blockchain.