Many people are caught up in Ethereum's short-term fluctuations but fail to see what it is really doing. The story of blockchain is far more than just price rises and falls.

Taking Bitcoin as a comparison—it's digital gold with a very clear status. Ethereum is different; it’s more like a financial ecosystem on the chain. Its value isn’t measured by how many holders there are, but by the size of its on-chain economy. These are two different scales.

So what’s the next key? Bringing real-world assets onto the chain (RWA). When derivatives, bonds, and real estate rights around the world start settling on blockchain, why is Ethereum the first choice? Liquidity depth, developer base, security record—these advantages aren’t built overnight. No matter how many new public chains emerge, it’s hard to shake Ethereum in the short term.

Let’s do a quick calculation: if 1% of the global derivatives trading volume moves onto the chain, and the main part of it clears on Ethereum, the market cap under this assumption could already surpass that of the largest financial institutions today. Looking further ahead, if it becomes the secure underlying infrastructure for decentralized applications like DePIN, AI computing power, and more, the value dimension changes completely.

It’s like the internet in the 1990s. Back then, people only thought it was for sending emails, and no one imagined it would carry global finance and commerce. When the market is pessimistic, it’s often the best time to see the long-term opportunity. If Ethereum truly establishes itself as the foundational infrastructure for on-chain finance, then the price increase might just be a matter of time.