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Arslan Butt•Thursday, January 23, 2025•2 min read
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Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and the Ethereum Foundation are investing in Etherealize—a company that will help get Ethereum on Wall Street.
Led by former Nomura Holdings and UBS Group AG bond trader Vivek Raman, Etherealize will make Ether (ETH) the go-to cryptocurrency for institutional investors.
This comes after Bitcoin got Wall Street’s attention with the launch of Bitcoin ETFs and corporate adoption. While Bitcoin surged 160% in 2024 to over $100,000, Ethereum only gained 40%. Etherealize will fill that gap by marketing Ethereum to institutions.
Based in New York, Etherealize has a team of 8 people working on Ethereum-based products for banks and institutional clients. Raman launched the company in January 2025 and said tokenization is top of mind—transforming traditional financial instruments into digital assets for blockchain trading.
ETH/USD
Ethereum Faces Competition and Criticism
Ethereum’s dominance is being challenged by Solana which has hosted high profile projects including the TRUMP and MELANIA meme coins. Critics say Ethereum has failed to capitalize on its first mover advantage, with high gas fees and scalability issues driving users to other layer-1 blockchains.
Buterin acknowledged these issues on X (formerly Twitter) last week. He said “big changes” coming to the Ethereum Foundation’s structure and goals to get back on track.
Raman agreed saying “stronger advocacy and usability for institutional investors will help Ethereum get its mojo back.
Ethereum challenges:
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Scalability: High fees are still a deterrent to adoption.
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Underperformance: ETH has underperformed both Bitcoin and altcoins like Solana and XRP.
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Regulatory Uncertainty: Institutional investors are still waiting for clarity on Ethereum-based products.
Will Spot Ether ETFs Spark a Recovery?
Bitcoin ETFs launched in January 2024 got institutional attention and corporate players like MicroStrategy are accumulating massive amounts of BTC. Ether ETFs launched in July 2024 struggled to get traction initially.
But after Donald Trump won the presidency in November 2024, inflows into spot Ether ETFs have been growing steadily, $2.725 billion so far. This is a sign of interest in Ethereum as an institutional asset.
Ethereum is trading at $3,300 and showing signs of whale accumulation with analysts targeting $4,000. If Etherealize succeeds, Ethereum could be the go-to for institutions in 2025.
— ETH on Wall Street? Vitalik Buterin gets help from Etherealize. $2.725B in Ether ETF inflows.
Arslan Butt
Index & Commodity Analyst
Arslan Butt serves as the Lead Commodities and Indices Analyst, bringing a wealth of expertise to the field. With an MBA in Behavioral Finance and active progress towards a Ph.D., Arslan possesses a deep understanding of market dynamics.His professional journey includes a significant role as a senior analyst at a leading brokerage firm, complementing his extensive experience as a market analyst and day trader. Adept in educating others, Arslan has a commendable track record as an instructor and public speaker.His incisive analyses, particularly within the realms of cryptocurrency and forex markets, are showcased across esteemed financial publications such as ForexCrunch, InsideBitcoins, and EconomyWatch, solidifying his reputation in the financial community.