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Author: Zz, ChainCatcher Editor: TB, ChainCatcher
Ethereum is undergoing a profound capital reconstruction.
Four forces quietly gathered: institutions entered the market through ETFs, banks began to provide ETH trading services, listed companies used ETH as reserve assets, and large players continued to buy on-chain.
The era of speculation led by retail investors is coming to an end, and institutional-driven change has begun.
Source: RootData
ETF funds wave: net inflows per week is 2.72 billion, BlackRock swept 300 million in a day
Wall Street’s attitude is undergoing a fundamental change.
SoSoValue data shows that last week, Bitcoin spot ETFs had net inflows of $2.72 billion, with five consecutive weeks of capital inflows.This shows that traditional finance’s perception of crypto assets is changing.BlackRock Bitcoin ETF IBIT has a net inflow of US$1.76 billion in a single week, and the historical cumulative net inflow has reached US$55.20 billion.
Data source: CoinMarketCap
Ethereum’s performance is even more eye-catching.On July 10 alone, the total net inflow of U.S. Ethereum spot ETFs was $383 million, of which BlackRock ETHA contributed $300.9 million, followed by Fidelity.As of press time, all ETFs managed assets of US$14.22 billion, accounting for 3.87% of the total ETH market value.The cumulative net inflows in history has reached US$5.757 billion.
Source: SoSoValue
These ETHs are locked in institutional cold wallets such as Coinbase Custody.Every ETF subscription requires real purchase of ETH in the spot market, forming continuous buying pressure.
A greater change is still brewing.Eric Jackson, an analyst at EMJ Capital, pointed out that once ETH can pledge and generate income in ETFs, conservative institutions such as pension funds and insurance companies will also be able to participate.The market expects pledged ETFs to be approved by 10 months in 2025.
Standard Chartered Bank opens ETH trading, JPMorgan Chase’s attitude changes 180 degrees
Traditional banks, which once were cautious about cryptocurrencies, are quietly turning around.
In July 2025, Standard Chartered announced the launch of a digital asset trading platform for institutional clients.This is the first large bank in the world to offer ETH physical transactions to customers.
Institutional traders can now buy and sell ETH directly through the familiar forex trading interface, enjoying bank-level security.Standard Chartered Bank plans to launch Ethereum forward contracts, viewing ETH as the same mainstream asset as the US dollar and the euro.
A more dramatic signal comes from JPMorgan Chase.According to CNBC host Jim Cramer, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who once called Bitcoin a “fraud”, will now “embrace cryptocurrency with all his might.”This shift in attitude is more telling than any data.
Business Hoarding ETH: SharpLink increases by 23% monthly
A group of listed companies began to use ETH as company reserves.
SharpLink Gaming (SBET) holds 280,706 ETH, of which 99.7% generates revenue from staking.ETH positions grew by 23% within one month, and there is currently about $257 million in funds to continue purchasing Ethereum.
PayPal Peter Thiel acquires a 9.1% stake in BitMine Immersion Technologies.The company transformed from mining to an ETH reserve company, holding 163,142 ETHs, worth over $500 million.
Traditional mining companies are also turning to ETH.Bit Digital has exchanged all Bitcoin reserves for Ethereum and now holds 100,603 ETH.BTC Digital set up a $1 million ETH reserve fund.
The stock prices of these companies are highly correlated with ETH prices.From early to mid-July, when Ethereum rose 22%, BitMine Immersion’s share price rose more than 1,100%, and SharpLink Gaming rose 180%.
Huge whale chain, withdrawal of $89.5 million in a single week
On-chain data shows that big players are continuing to buy.
Glassnode data shows that large players holding at least 10,000 ETH have increased their holdings from 37.56 million to 41.06 million in the past nine months, an increase of 9.31%, a concentration hitting a new high since 2020.
The specific trends tracked by Lookonchain:
It is suspected that Cumberland withdraws 34,883 ETH from Binance within one week, worth US$89.5 million; a large investor bought 20,300 ETH in 10 days, deposited all into the DeFi protocol for long-term holding; another address withdraws 50,255 ETH from Binance within three weeks, worth US$114 million.
From exchange withdrawals to cold wallets or DeFi, these behaviors indicate that big players are preparing for long-term holdings.
Matrixport research shows that Ethereum’s July rise was 18%, amid the approaching “crypto week” and policy expectations.Enterprise configuration and Circle listing expectations have become the dominant force.17 percentage points of the heating up came from the Asian trading period.
Wintermute Founder and CEO Evgeny Gaevoy posted on July 17 that there is almost no ETH available for sale on its OTC trading platform
It is worth noting that when there is capital inflow in BlackRock ETF, you can see the institutional address on the chain withdrawing a large amount of ETH from the exchange at the same time.The behavior of institutions and large-scale investors is highly consistent.
What institutions are interested in: huge stablecoin ecosystem and zero downtime records
“People think institutions are concerned about scale and speed. And the opposite is true. Many institutions directly tell us that they value Ethereum’s stability and reliability, as well as records that have never been down in the past decade,” Vitalik Buterin said in an interview with CNBC in Cannes.
More importantly: Ethereum is the core of the US$230 billion stablecoin market.The higher the ETH price, the safer the network.Every time the on-chain dollar scale expands, more ETH purchases and pledges are required.
Regulation is also becoming clearer.The GENIUS Act will establish a federal regulatory framework for stablecoins, and the CLARITY Act clarifies the division of supervision.Every time the policy is clear, it is an invitation to the institution to enter.
Change is happening
The four buying forces are working together: institutions continue to buy through ETFs, banks include ETH in the service system, listed companies use ETH as reserve assets, and large investors hoard large amounts of them on the chain.
These forces promote each other: ETF compliance encourages corporate allocation, corporate active adoption promotes banks to improve services, and all positive signals are verified on the chain.
Ethereum is transforming from an experimental platform to a financial infrastructure.At the current price of $3200, the market is repricing for this long-term trend.
When traditional finance begins to turn, inertia tends to be stronger than expected.
