Financial Giants Accelerate Operations on Ethereum

In recent months, 35 of the world’s leading financial and technology firms, including BlackRock, JPMorgan, and Fidelity, have introduced new products and services built directly on the Ethereum blockchain.

These developments, outlined in a post from the official Ethereum account, reflect an accelerated trend in the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) by mainstream institutions.

This phenomenon also underscores Ethereum’s growing significance as a foundational settlement layer for global finance, transitioning from merely speculative crypto trading into equities, bonds, and institutional payments.

Institutions Embrace Tokenization and Public Settlement

The Ethereum X account indicated on January 19 that institutional adoption had accelerated, with product launches encompassing tokenized stocks, money market funds, stablecoins, and bank deposits.

For instance, Kraken launched xStocks on the platform, enabling eligible clients to transfer fully collateralized U.S. equities on-chain, while Ondo Finance debuted a platform featuring over 100 tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs supported by real securities.

Major asset managers are also stepping up, with Fidelity launching its tokenized money market fund, FDIT, on Ethereum, while China Asset Management’s Hong Kong branch premiered a tokenized USD money market fund—one of the first from a notable Chinese asset management firm. Meanwhile in Europe, Amundi released a tokenized version of its euro money market fund on the Ethereum mainnet.

Additionally, banks are expanding their presence. JPMorgan shifted its JPM Coin deposit token from an internal blockchain to Base, an Ethereum Layer 2 solution, and subsequently launched its inaugural tokenized money market fund on Ethereum, starting with $100 million of its capital. Moreover, Societe Generale FORGE rolled out lending and trading solutions denominated in euros and dollars on DeFi protocols based on Ethereum.

Payment companies and fintechs are also joining the fray, led by Stripe’s enhancement of stablecoin subscriptions utilizing USDC on Ethereum, while SoFi introduced SoFiUSD, becoming the first U.S. national retail bank to launch a stablecoin on a public blockchain. Further, Google declared a payment protocol utilizing stablecoins on Ethereum, developed in collaboration with partners including the Ethereum Foundation and Coinbase.

Challenges of Scaling and Simplicity

The institutional surge has coincided with increased on-chain activity, demonstrated by Ethereum staking surpassing 30% of the total supply this month, with approximately 36.2 million ETH locked, as reported by Ultrasound Money. Wallet creation recently set a record on January 11, with nearly 394,000 new addresses created in a single day.

At the same time, Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, cautioned on January 18 that increasing protocol complexity could compromise security and self-sovereignty in the long run, urging developers to focus on simplicity. His remarks highlighted a conflict between broadening institutional use cases and maintaining an understandable and resilient base protocol.

The wide array of recent announcements illustrates how Ethereum and its Layer 2 frameworks are becoming experimental grounds for regulated tokenized finance, spanning from investment funds and equities to payments and settlements, while discussions about governance and design continue in tandem.