Waller, a leading candidate for Fed chair: Ethereum and stablecoins are the next step in payment evolution, institutions should adopt them
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Waller, a leading candidate for Fed chair: Ethereum and stablecoins are the next step in payment evolution, institutions should adopt them
Waller, a leading candidate for the next Federal Reserve chair, publicly expressed optimism toward digital assets—particularly Ethereum and stablecoins—and urged financial institutions to embrace cryptocurrencies as the natural next step in payment development.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsBy: Xu Chao
Source: Wall Street Insights
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller, a leading candidate for the next Fed chair, delivered significant remarks expressing optimism toward digital assets—particularly Ethereum and stablecoins—and praised the progress of the GENIUS Act. The comments are seen as providing crucial policy support for institutional adoption of digital assets such as stablecoins and Ethereum.
On Thursday local time, Federal Reserve Governor Waller spoke at the 2025 Wyoming Blockchain Symposium.
Waller described Ethereum and stablecoins as a natural next step in payment technology, stating that smart contracts, tokenization, and distributed ledgers pose no risks in daily use, and urged financial institutions to embrace cryptocurrencies as an inevitable evolution in payments.
On regulation, Waller called the GENIUS Act a "good start" and pledged to progressively address issues as it moves forward.
Waller’s position advocating for Ethereum and stablecoins as foundational financial infrastructure aligns with key regulatory legislation passed in 2025. This stance is interpreted by markets as a positive signal for re-evaluating cryptocurrencies.
The GENIUS Act requires stablecoin issuers to hold high-quality liquid assets, such as U.S. Treasuries and cash, as full 1:1 reserves, while the CLARITY Act clarifies the regulatory framework for digital commodities, eliminating regulatory uncertainty for institutional investors.
Regulatory Framework Boosts Institutional Confidence
The GENIUS Act took effect in July 2025, establishing the first federal regulatory framework for stablecoins in the United States.
It mandates that stablecoin issuers maintain 1:1 reserves in high-quality liquid assets like U.S. Treasury securities and cash, and defines supervisory responsibilities for banking regulators such as the OCC and FDIC.
To complement the GENIUS Act, the House passed the CLARITY Act in July 2025, further clarifying jurisdictional boundaries between the SEC and CFTC.
The act classifies non-stablecoin digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum as "digital commodities" under CFTC oversight, removing regulatory ambiguity for asset managers and institutional investors.
This dual legislative framework has created a favorable environment for institutional adoption, accelerating growth in Ethereum-based tokenized assets and ETFs.
Regulatory clarity has directly driven institutional investment in Ethereum and stablecoins.
As of Q3 2025, Ethereum ETFs reached $27.6 billion in assets under management (AUM), surpassing inflows into Bitcoin ETFs. BlackRock’s ETHA ETF attracted $10 billion in AUM within just ten days of launch.
Corporate treasuries have also reallocated capital into the Ethereum ecosystem, with over 64 companies investing $10.1 billion in staking and tokenized real-world assets.
Platforms such as BlackRock's BUIDL and Franklin Templeton's Progmat are leveraging Ethereum's infrastructure to offer fractional ownership of assets, integrating traditional finance with blockchain programmability.
Ethereum’s technological upgrades have further enhanced its appeal to institutional investors. After completing the Pectra and Dencun upgrades, Ethereum’s gas fees (transaction costs) dropped by 90%.
The reduction in fees has significantly lowered the cost of running decentralized finance (DeFi) applications on Ethereum, attracting more institutional capital. Total value locked (TVL) in DeFi reached $223 billion, with substantial investments flowing into decentralized financial products such as lending, staking, and liquidity pools.
Ethereum’s dominance in the stablecoin ecosystem has solidified further, with stablecoins issued and circulating on Ethereum capturing 50% of the global market share.
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