Ethereum Giants Invest Billions to Enter Wall Street: A Game of New Financial Order
TechFlow Selected TechFlow Selected
Ethereum Giants Invest Billions to Enter Wall Street: A Game of New Financial Order
Can the "lock-up race" among giants support the next financial era?
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsBy: Isabelle Lee, Muyao Shen, Bloomberg
Translation: Saoirse, Foresight News
Translator's Note: As ETH surged 75% since June to near all-time highs, a capital frenzy around Ethereum is quietly spreading into Wall Street. Inside Manhattan’s historic bank halls, cryptocurrency advocates are heralding the arrival of a new financial era—one where the spotlight shifts from Bitcoin to Ethereum, seen as a "programmable ledger." From corporations holding over $6 billion in ETH to institutions seeking to embed it into mainstream financial products, capital is betting that Ethereum is more than just a speculative asset—it may become the core infrastructure linking Wall Street with new technology. Behind this "locking race" lies a contest for the future of finance and another push by crypto against traditional financial systems.
Last week, a gathering at the grand ballroom of the Cipriani 42nd Street in Manhattan was imbued with special significance by cryptocurrency supporters. Beneath marble columns and crystal chandeliers, they declared the dawn of a new financial age beyond Bitcoin.
August 12, 2025, during the "NextFin NYC" event, part of the "Ethereum NYC 2025" series. Photo: Isabelle Lee/Bloomberg
Just days earlier, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, ETH, had soared about 75% since June, nearing its all-time peak. At this former Bowery Savings Bank location, executives from the digital asset industry gathered—not only to celebrate a milestone victory but also to send a clear message to the financial world: Ethereum is far more than a mere speculative instrument; it is the cornerstone of the future monetary system, and corporate adoption could accelerate this vision.
Tom Lee, chairman of BitMine Immersion Technologies, took the stage as a staunch proponent of this idea. Once obscure on Wall Street, the company now holds over $6 billion worth of Ethereum, pursuing a strategy that is both clear and bold—not just to hold Ethereum, but to build an entire business ecosystem around it. In public remarks, Tom Lee repeatedly emphasized: "Ethereum will be the intersection of Wall Street and artificial intelligence."
This claim may seem radical, given that Ethereum’s network activity still primarily revolves around token transactions among crypto users. Yet to Tom Lee, the underlying logic is self-evident: unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum is not just a currency but a programmable distributed ledger. Software programs known as "smart contracts" can run automatically on it, enabling transaction processing, interest payments, or loan management—all without bank intermediaries.
People use it to exchange cryptocurrencies, transfer stablecoins, or obtain crypto-backed loans, each operation requiring payment in Ethereum as a fee. The more businesses and projects relying on its infrastructure, the greater the demand for Ethereum. If corporate treasurers quietly accumulating Ethereum are right in their judgment, they stand not only to profit from price appreciation but also to secure a strategic advantage in shaping the future financial architecture.
Although Ethereum remains the most active blockchain by on-chain transaction volume, it faces dual challenges: on one hand, rivals like Solana are rising with faster speeds and lower costs (its price hitting record highs this year); on the other, there remains a persistent lack of strong, sustained buyer demand. Tom Lee and Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin believe corporate reserve initiatives offer a structural solution to the demand problem—by locking up supply, thereby creating a solid floor for the market.
"There's still a massive amount of Ethereum in circulation," Lubin said in a July interview with Bloomberg. "It's like a race—if we and more projects lock up large amounts of Ethereum, it will greatly improve the supply-demand dynamic."
Yet this vision faces another obstacle: financial giants are building private 'blockchain rails.' Stablecoin issuer Circle is constructing its own network to reduce fees and retain customers, bypassing Ethereum’s model of shared infrastructure. If this trend toward privatization continues, Ethereum risks being excluded from the very systems it aims to empower. According to Bloomberg Terminal reports, payment giant Stripe is taking similar steps.
The strategy of corporate Ethereum reserves directly draws from Michael Saylor, Bitcoin’s most prominent advocate. In 2020, Saylor transformed Strategy Inc. into a quasi-Bitcoin ETF, accumulating $72 billion worth of Bitcoin. While BitMine is smaller in scale—holding just 1% of Ethereum’s circulating supply—its ambition is no less grand: lock up enough assets to make scarcity a natural moat. Tom Lee predicts that if Wall Street heavily embraces Ethereum projects, its price could surge from today’s ~$4,300 to as high as $60,000. However, Saylor’s success coincided with a historic crypto bull market, leaving uncertainty over whether Ethereum can replicate this path.
"Michael Saylor of Strategy proved over four years that holding the base asset creates immense value; through Ethereum reserve strategies via liquid public companies, shareholders can achieve returns far exceeding those of the underlying asset alone." Joseph Chalom, co-CEO of Sharplink Gaming, said on Bloomberg Television. The former BlackRock executive helped the world’s largest asset manager launch an Ethereum ETF (ticker ETHA), and Sharplink has since accumulated over $3 billion in Ethereum.
Supporters argue the data favors Ethereum: its issuance is already low, and a portion of every transaction fee is permanently burned, meaning its total supply could eventually shrink. Corporate long-term reserves would further intensify this scarcity. But skeptics warn of cyclical risk: the same corporations that buy decisively may sell just as quickly, potentially amplifying market downturns.
"Crypto enthusiasts love reserve-holding firms because they assume they’ll only keep buying and holding," said Omid Malekan, adjunct professor at Columbia Business School. "But there’s no free lunch. Most people overlook one possibility: if a crypto bear market hits, these firms might start selling."
Compared to Bitcoin, one major advantage of Ethereum is its "staking" mechanism—locking up Ethereum to support network operations and earn rewards. This transforms it from a static commodity into an income-generating asset akin to dividend-paying stocks. Yet currently, mainstream ETF investors cannot directly access these staking returns.
According to July regulatory filings, BlackRock is working with other issuers to add staking functionality to the ETHA product, meaning retail investors could soon gain both price appreciation and staking yields through a single fund. The fund has grown to $16 billion in assets within just over a year.
Despite Ethereum’s vibrant ecosystem, it has yet to penetrate everyday financial use cases such as payments, shopping, or savings, and many Wall Street tokenization projects remain in testing phases. Yet Tom Lee believes transformation is already underway: AI firms, payment companies, and major financial institutions are beginning to build applications on Ethereum.
"I see multiple trends converging to position Ethereum as the most important macro trade over the next 10 to 15 years," he said.
Today, Ethereum’s supporters extend beyond bank research desks into politics: World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance firm linked to Trump allies, disclosed purchases of millions of dollars in Ethereum this year; Eric Trump, co-founder of American Bitcoin Corp. (a Bitcoin mining firm tied to the Trump family), publicly cheered its rally; Standard Chartered raised its year-end target from $4,000 to $7,500; and Ark Investment Management also upgraded its long-term outlook.
The price gains are real, corporate holdings undeniable, and conviction strong. But Ethereum’s true test isn’t whether it can keep rising—it’s whether it can hold its ground: whether corporations can withstand the next crash, and whether the token can transcend its role as a speculative tool.
"Financial institutions see Ethereum as the natural choice," said Tomasz Stańczak, executive director of the Ethereum Foundation. "They know exactly what products they need to build, which processes they can optimize, and where they can achieve efficiency leaps."
Join TechFlow official community to stay tuned
Telegram:https://t.me/TechFlowDaily
X (Twitter):https://x.com/TechFlowPost
X (Twitter) EN:https://x.com/BlockFlow_News
@Bloomberg
