Last week, in the Great Bank Hall of Cipriani 42nd Street in Manhattanthe defenders of cryptocurrencies They gathered under marble columns and Candelabros to declare the arrival of a new financial era, one that goes far beyond Bitcoin.
Just a few days before, Ether, the second largest cryptocurrency in the world, had risen about 75% since June, reaching almost a historical maximum. Now, in the old Bowery Savings Bank building, digital asset executives gathered for what seemed like a kind of return of honor and a sales presentation. The campaign: convincing the financial community that Ether is not just another speculative currency, but the core of a future monetary system, and that the blockade of corporate treasury could promote that vision.
Tom Lee, president of Bitmine Immersion Technologies Inc., took the stage. His company – known in Wall Street, but now has more than 6 billion dollars in Ether – has made a simple bet: not only to own Ethereum, but to build a company around him. Lee’s proposal, presented in innumerable online videos aimed at a retail audience, is sweeping.
“Ethereum is where Wall Street and AI will converge”, said.
It is a bold statement for a network that still links most of its activity to the exchange of tokens between cryptocurrency users. But for Lee, the underlying logic is clear: Ethereum, unlike Bitcoin, is not just money. It is a programmable accounting book where software programs called “intelligent contracts” can be executed automatically: processing transactions, paying interest or managing loans without a bank in between.
People use it to exchange cryptocurrencies, transfer stable currencies or request loans backed by cryptocurrencies, and each time they pay a commission in Ether. The more businesses and projects depend on their resources, the greater the demand of Token. If the corporate treasury that accumulate Ether discreetly are right, they will not only benefit from the increase in their price, but also to have predicted the architecture of the financial system of the future before its construction.
While Ethereum remains the most active blockchain in terms of chain value, he faces two major obstacles: the fastest and most economical rivals competition as a Solana (which reached historical maximums this year) and a persistent shortage of new committed buyers. Lee and the co -founder of Ethereum, Joe Lubin, consider treasury programs as a structural solution to that demand problem.
“There is still much available,” Lubin told Bloomberg in July. “It’s a kind of career right now.” Because if we block a lot of Ether and many other projects block a lot of Ether, that will be very positive for the dynamics of supply and demand.
That vision finds resistance in another way: the great figures of the financial world are building private versions of the “blockchain rails”. The Stablecoins issuer, Circle Internet Group Inc., is creating a network that will control. Reducing commissions, keeping customers within the company and avoiding the shared infrastructure model promoted by Ethereum. If this owner trend is maintained, Ethereum could be excluded from the same systems he intends to boost. As reported, Stripe Inc. is doing the same.
The corporate treasury strategies manual was directly inspired by the most famous evangelist of Bitcoin, Michael Saylor, who turned Strategy Inc. into a Bitcoin Cuasi-ETF in 2020 and eventually accumulated $ 72 billion in Tokens. Bitmine’s version is smaller (1% of Ether’s circulating offer), but ambition is the same: blocking such a large amount of the asset that the shortage itself becomes a pit. Lee points out that if Wall Street pounces on Ethereum projects, the value of the token could shoot at $ 60,000 from the approximately $ 4,300. It is uncertain if Ether will be able to replicate Bitcoin’s success in corporate treasury, since Saylor’s actions coincided with a historic rebound in the cryptocurrency market.
“Michael Saylor, from Strategy, has demonstrated for four years that possessing the underlying asset is excellent, but through an eth treasury strategy – through a company quoted with liquidity – the value of the underlying asset can multiply for the benefit of the shareholders,” said Joseph Chalom, executive co -director of Sharplink Gaming Inc., to Bloomberg Television. Chalom is an exexecutive of Blackrock Inc. that, during his stage at the world’s largest asset manager, he helped launch his ETF of Ether under the Etha symbol. Sharplink has accumulated more than 3000 million dollars in Ether.
Defenders argue that mathematics favor Ethereum. Ether’s issuance is low and, since a part of each commission by transaction is permanently destroyed, the offer can even decrease over time. The skeptics indicate the risk on the other side of the cycle: corporate holders can sell with the same speed with which they buy, which could aggravate recessions.
“The people of the cryptocurrency sector like treasury because they believe they will only buy and maintain their assets,” said Omid Malekan, an attached professor at Columbia Business School. “But nothing is free.” And what most misunderstanding people are that there are future scenarios, particularly in a perptocurious bearish market, in which the treasury could start selling.
One of Ethereum’s biggest advantages over Bitcoin is Staking: Block Ether to help operate the network in exchange for performance. It is presented as a way to convert Ether into an active performance generator, more similar to an action that pays dividends than to a static raw material. However, for now, the majority of traditional investors in funds quoted in the stock market (ETF) cannot access that performance directly.
Together with other issuers, Blackrock seeks to add participation in ETHA, according to a regulatory presentation of July, which could facilitate retail operators to obtain price and profitability profits in the same product. The fund has accumulated about 16 billion dollars in just over a year.
In spite of all the activity in Ethereum, most people do not yet use it for money related to money, such as sending payments, buying or saving. Many Wall Street tokenization projects are still in the test phase. Lee states that the change is already underway, pointing out the first initiatives of artificial intelligence companies, payments and large financial institutions to develop directly on Ethereum.
“I see many plot arches that are turning Ethereum into the largest macro cryptocurrency for the next 10 to 15 years,” he said. The Ethereum followers base now covers from bank analysts to political operators. World Liberty Financial Inc., a decentralized finance company linked to Donald Trump’s circle, revealed millionaire purchases of Ether this year. Eric Trump, co -founder of American Bitcoin Corp., has publicly celebrated his rebound. Standard Chartered PLC now sets its end of the year target at $ 7,500, compared to the previous $ 4,000. Ark Investment Management has also raised its long -term forecasts.
Price earnings are real. Corporate investments are real. The belief is sincere. But the test is not if Ethereum can rise. It is if it can be maintained, if these companies will endure the next fall, if the Token becomes more than a simple bet.
“Financial institutions come to Ethereum as a natural option,” said Tomasz Stańczak, executive director of the Ethereum Foundation. “They understand what products should be developed, what can be improved and where efficiency improvements are found.”
