Ethereum’s role in stablecoins, RWAs, and DeFi is fueling institutional interest, positioning ETH as a reserve asset, store of value, and digital oil. Key takeaways: ETH is increasingly viewed as a reserve asset for the digital dollar economy, with over 54% of stablecoins issued on Ethereum. Fidelity sees Ethereum as a sovereign digital economy, with ETH acting as both a store of value and a medium of exchange. Read more
Staking for crypto exchange-traded funds has been a feature long sought by traditional financial institutions and asset managers. The Nasdaq stock exchange filed an application with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday on behalf of BlackRock to add staking to the asset manager’s iShares Ether (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETF). If the application is approved, the fund would give investors exposure to staking rewards accrued from using the underlying Ether as collateral security for Ethereum’s proof-of-stake consensus algorithm. In May, the SEC released guidance classifying staking rewards earned from validation services on proof-of-stake blockchain networks as earned income rather than securities transactions subject to capital gains tax. Read more