Маяк уже достигнут: ETHB освещает институциональный путь для Ethereum

BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Staking Trust ETF (ETHB) has brought the innovative concept of “Internet Bonds” for Ethereum into Wall Street’s view.

Written by: David Christopher

Translated by: Saoirse, Foresight News

BlackRock’s iShares Staking Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHB) officially listed on NASDAQ on March 12. This is BlackRock’s first Ethereum staking fund, quietly addressing the core issue that has hung over the institutional development narrative of Ethereum since the launch of spot ETFs.

This means Wall Street can now engage with Ethereum in its proclaimed true form — viewing it as a productive asset capable of generating stable income.

Core Product Implementation: Filling the Institutional Investment Gap

The highly anticipated Ethereum staking ETF has officially launched. The fund deeply integrates Ethereum spot exposure with staking rewards, providing institutional investors with an unprecedented compliant channel.

Since its inception, Ethereum spot ETFs have suffered from a fatal product mismatch.

For a long time, Ethereum has been positioned as the “native internet bond” for institutional promotion — it possesses scarcity (annual issuance cap of only 1.5%), yield-generating capacity (annual compound return of about 3%-5%), and is deeply embedded in a new financial system composed of stablecoins and tokenized assets as the settlement layer.

Although this concept is somewhat “avant-garde,” it has still gained market recognition. However, the actual products launched have failed to match this vision.

After the listing of spot ETFs, the only missing core element was “yield.” Investors could only gain exposure to price fluctuations but could not access Ethereum’s economic engine. We promote a yield-generating asset to institutions, but what is delivered is a shell without any income.

Bitcoin does not have this problem. Its core value proposition is “store of value,” which is simple and direct: holding spot gives the full value. But Ethereum’s logic is entirely different; staking is an inseparable part of its asset attributes, the fundamental way for holders to benefit from the network economy and earn compound interest. Spot ETFs cannot provide this function.

This is not the only reason, but undoubtedly a key factor behind the severe lag in institutional capital inflows into Ethereum. BlackRock’s Bitcoin spot ETF (IBIT) currently manages over $55 billion, while Ethereum spot ETF (ETHA) is only about $65 billion. Certainly, Bitcoin’s first-mover advantage and simpler narrative are part of the reason, but product flaws are the core issue. Institutions are getting the narrative of Ethereum’s rise but receiving a truncated asset.

Wall Street Has Already Entered, Infrastructure Value Recognized

Poor asset performance has masked the rapid development of Ethereum’s institutional adoption since the launch of the spot ETF in July 2024.

During this period, the supply of RWA (Real-World Assets) on Ethereum has increased about 7 times, and stablecoin supply has doubled. Wall Street increasingly views Ethereum as infrastructure — the operating layer for stablecoins and tokenized finance, rather than just a trading target.

Growth of RWA on Ethereum from July 2024 to present

BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, Franklin Dunden’s FOBXX money market fund, and an increasing number of tokenized products are settled on Ethereum or its Layer 2 networks (L2). Major banks are testing on-chain settlement functions, including SWIFT. Although ETF capital flows are not ideal, Ethereum’s institutional ecosystem continues to expand.

The core issue is that institutions can hold Ethereum’s price exposure but cannot participate compliantly in the increasingly relied-upon Ethereum network economy. The appearance of ETHB has completely solved this pain point.

Growth of Stablecoins on Ethereum from July 2024 to present

Structural Impact: Rebuilding Institutional Investment Logic

This influence goes far beyond the ETHB product itself.

Previously, non-crypto-native institutions seeking yield exposure to Ethereum could only do so through alternative structures like Digital Asset Trusts (DAT). These structures could participate in staking, re-staking, and DeFi ecosystems, but the fund’s value was not directly linked to the underlying assets.

The existence of such structures stems from regulatory restrictions preventing direct participation in staking. With the launch of staking ETFs, the rationale for these intermediary pathways is greatly weakened. Funds that previously had to flow through intermediaries to alternative structures may now directly return to Ethereum’s native assets.

Market Valuation and Fundamentals: Value in Deep Discount

At the launch of ETHB, multiple cycle indicators suggest Ethereum’s current valuation is in a reasonable to deep value zone.

Its MVRV (Market Value / Realized Value) is below 1, indicating the market is in a state of overall unrealized loss; profit-supply is lower than during the 2022 crash; the current cycle’s price has not broken through the 2021 all-time high, remaining in a previous trading range. From a historical perspective, the price has a highly compressed risk-reward ratio.

Of course, poor performance is also due to Ethereum’s own development. Layer 2 roadmap prioritizes scalability and user experience over Layer 1 fee capture. Blob data block technology has significantly reduced Rollup (Layer 2 scaling solution) anchoring costs, and the scale of fee burning that once supported a deflationary narrative has sharply decreased, making its investment logic harder to model.

But it is worth noting that Ethereum’s monetary system remains intact. Its annual issuance rate is about 0.8%, roughly in line with Bitcoin’s inflation rate. Now, all elements are converging: institutional demand continues to accelerate, RWA, stablecoins, and tokenized funds are steadily growing on Ethereum, staking yield channels are finally open, and the price is in a deep value zone.

Future Outlook: Wall Street’s Valuation Test

For years, Ethereum has been promoted to institutions as a “yield-bearing reserve asset” and a tokenized economic settlement layer. This story has been refined, formalized, and repeatedly emphasized — it is presented to those institutions that already recognize the network’s value but cannot participate in Ethereum’s economic proposition.

Now, product design finally aligns perfectly with the value proposition. The market performance of ETHB will be a key test of whether Wall Street truly recognizes Ethereum’s asset value.