Original article by Isabelle Lee and Muyao Shen, Bloomberg

Original translation: Saoirse, Foresight News

Translator's Note: As ETH surged 75% since June to near-record highs, a frenzy of capital surrounding Ethereum is quietly spreading to Wall Street. In the halls of Manhattan's historic banks, cryptocurrency advocates are heralding the arrival of a new financial era—this time, the protagonist is no longer Bitcoin, but Ethereum, hailed as a "programmable ledger." From companies holding over $6 billion in ETH to institutions seeking to integrate it into mainstream financial products, investors are betting that Ethereum is not just a speculative tool but has the potential to become the core infrastructure connecting Wall Street to new technologies. Behind this "lock-up race" lies a struggle for the future of financial order and another assault by cryptocurrency on the traditional financial system.

Last week, a gathering in the grand halls of Manhattan's Cipriani 42nd Street Hotel was given special significance by cryptocurrency advocates. Beneath the marble columns and crystal chandeliers, they heralded the arrival of a new era of finance beyond Bitcoin.

The NextFin NYC event, part of the Ethereum NYC 2025 conference series, took place on August 12, 2025. Photo by Isabelle Lee/Bloomberg

Just a few days ago, ETH, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency, surged approximately 75% since June, approaching its all-time peak. At this moment, at the former Bowery Savings Bank, digital asset executives gathered to celebrate this milestone and send a clear signal to the financial community: Ethereum is not just a speculative tool, but the core of the future monetary system; if companies include it in their financial reserves, they could accelerate the realization of this vision.

Tom Lee, Chairman of BitMine Immersion Technologies, who took the stage, is a staunch proponent of this philosophy. This once unknown company on Wall Street now holds over $6 billion worth of Ethereum. Its strategy is clear and bold: not only to hold Ethereum, but to build an entire business ecosystem around it. In his public speeches, Lee repeatedly emphasized, " Ethereum will be the intersection of Wall Street and artificial intelligence. "

This statement may seem radical, given that the Ethereum network's primary activity currently revolves around token transactions between cryptocurrency users. But in Lee's view, the underlying logic is self-evident: Unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum is not just a currency; it's a programmable distributed ledger. Software programs called "smart contracts" can run autonomously on it, processing transactions, paying interest, and managing loans without the need for bank intervention.

People use it to exchange cryptocurrencies, transfer stablecoins, or obtain crypto-collateralized loans, each transaction requiring a fee in ETH. The more businesses and projects rely on its infrastructure, the greater the demand for ETH. If corporate fund managers who quietly hoard ETH are right, they can not only profit from price increases but also gain a head start in building the future financial system before it takes shape.

While Ethereum remains the most active blockchain by on-chain transaction volume, it faces dual challenges: on the one hand, the rise of competitors like Solana (whose price hit a new high this year) thanks to their faster speed and lower costs; on the other hand, the market continues to lack a consistent and committed buyer base. Tom Lee and Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin believe that corporate reserve programs are a structural solution to this demand problem —by locking up supply and creating a solid floor for the market.

“There’s still a huge amount of ether in circulation,” Lubin told Bloomberg in July. “It’s like a race: if we and more projects lock up a lot of ether, it will significantly change the supply and demand equation.”

However, this vision is facing another obstacle: financial giants are building private "blockchain rails." Stablecoin issuer Circle is building its own network to lower fees and retain customers, circumventing the shared infrastructure model promoted by Ethereum. If this trend toward privatization continues, Ethereum could be excluded from the very systems it aspires to empower. Payments giant Stripe is also taking similar action, according to Bloomberg.

The strategy of companies stockpiling Ethereum is directly inspired by Michael Saylor, Bitcoin's most prominent promoter. In 2020, Saylor transformed Strategy Inc. into a quasi-Bitcoin ETF, amassing a cumulative $72 billion worth of Bitcoin. While BitMine's scale may be small (holding only 1% of Ethereum's circulating supply), its ambition is significant: to lock up enough assets to create a natural moat through scarcity. Tom Lee predicts that if Wall Street were to invest heavily in the Ethereum project, its price could soar from its current price of approximately $4,300 to $60,000. However, Saylor's success coincided with a historic bull run in cryptocurrencies, and whether Ethereum can replicate this path remains questionable.

" Michael Saylor of Strategy spent four years demonstrating the immense value of holding underlying assets. And through an Ethereum reserve strategy, leveraging publicly traded companies with good liquidity, we can create value for shareholders far exceeding the underlying assets themselves, " said Joseph Chalom, co-CEO of Sharplink Gaming, on Bloomberg TV. This former BlackRock executive previously helped the world's largest asset management firm launch an Ethereum ETF (ticker: ETHA). SharpLink now holds over $3 billion in Ethereum.

Supporters argue that this data is advantageous for Ethereum: Ethereum's issuance is already low, and a portion of each transaction fee is permanently destroyed, potentially reducing its total supply over time. Furthermore, the long-term reserve behavior of companies will further exacerbate this scarcity. However, skeptics point to another cyclical risk: just as decisively as corporate holders buy, they may also sell quickly, potentially amplifying downward market volatility.

“The crypto world favors reserve companies because they believe they will just keep buying and holding,” said Omid Malekan, an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School. “But there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Most people overlook the possibility that in a future crypto bear market, these companies might start selling off.”

A major advantage of Ethereum over Bitcoin lies in its "staking" mechanism—locking up Ether to power the network generates returns. This transforms Ethereum from a static commodity into a yield-generating asset similar to dividend-paying stocks. However, mainstream ETF investors currently lack direct access to these returns.

According to a July regulatory filing, BlackRock is working with other issuers to add a staking feature to the ETHA product , which means retail investors can potentially obtain both price gains and staking returns through a single product. The fund has reached $16 billion in size in just over a year.

Despite the vibrant Ethereum ecosystem, it has yet to penetrate everyday financial scenarios like payments, shopping, or savings, with many tokenization projects on Wall Street still in the testing phase. However, Tom Lee believes a shift is already underway: AI companies, payment companies, and large financial institutions are pioneering applications on Ethereum.

“I see multiple trends pushing Ethereum into the most important macro trading position of the next 10 to 15 years,” he said.

Today, Ethereum's supporters have extended from bank research departments to the political arena : World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance company associated with the Trump camp, disclosed this year that it had purchased millions of dollars of Ethereum; Eric Trump, co-founder of American Bitcoin Corp. (a Bitcoin mining company associated with the Trump family), publicly cheered its rise; Standard Chartered Bank raised its year-end target price from $4,000 to $7,500; and Ark Investment Management also raised its long-term expectations.

The price increase is real, the companies’ holdings are clear, and the conviction is strong. But the true test for Ethereum isn’t whether it can continue to rise, but whether it can hold its ground—whether the companies can survive the next downturn, and whether the token can transcend its role as a speculative tool.

“Financial institutions see Ethereum as a natural choice,” said Tomasz Stańczak, executive director of the Ethereum Foundation. “They understand what products they need to build, what they can optimize, and where they can achieve significant efficiencies.”