Ethereum’s value locked on its network could grow by 10 times by 2026, thanks to growing interest from big institutions and new blockchain use cases, according to Joseph Chalom, co-CEO of Sharplink Gaming.

Large financial firms are starting to move more of their operations onto public blockchains. At the same time, money is flowing into tokenized assets — real-world investments represented digitally on the blockchain.

Sharplink Gaming currently holds 797,704 ETH, worth about $2.33 billion, making it the second-largest public holder of Ethereum according to Ethereum Treasuries data.

**Ethereum TVL Could Soar With Stablecoins and Institutional Growth**

Chalom believes Ethereum’s next growth phase won’t come from individual retail investors but from institutional demand, especially through stablecoins and tokenized assets moving on-chain.

He predicts the stablecoin market will grow from today’s $308 billion to around $500 billion by the end of 2025 — a 62% increase. Since more than half of all stablecoin activity takes place on Ethereum, this would likely boost Ethereum’s total value locked (TVL) significantly.

Tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) are another key factor. Chalom expects the RWA market to reach $300 billion by 2026. He says we’re shifting from small-scale tokenized products to entire fund structures being built on the blockchain.

Big names like JPMorgan, Franklin Templeton, and BlackRock have already started testing or launching tokenization products, showing growing interest from traditional finance in blockchain technology.

Currently, Ethereum’s TVL is around $68.2 billion, based on DeFiLlama data. A big jump in TVL would signal stronger institutional use rather than just speculative trading in decentralized finance (DeFi).

TVL is often seen as a sign of how useful and trusted a blockchain is — the more value locked in, the more confidence users and investors tend to have in the network.

**Price Not Matching Growth Yet**

Despite this positive outlook for adoption, Ether’s price hasn’t kept up. It’s down over 12% in the past year and is now trading close to $2,924, according to CoinMarketCap.

Crypto analyst Benjamin Cowen recently noted that Ether may not hit new highs anytime soon. He believes broader market trends driven by Bitcoin cycles are holding it back.

**Sovereign Wealth Funds Could Boost Ethereum Exposure**

Looking ahead, Chalom thinks demand from sovereign wealth funds will be a game changer. He expects these massive investment funds to increase their exposure to Ethereum and tokenization by 5 to 10 times within a year.

According to Chalom, staying out of crypto once seemed safe, but that mindset is changing as competition among major investors heats up.

He also sees a future where AI agents and prediction markets operating directly on the blockchain will become common by 2026, adding even more activity to the Ethereum ecosystem.

**ETHZilla Steps Back From Aggressive Strategy**

Meanwhile, ETHZilla — once known for being one of the biggest corporate holders of Ethereum — has started selling off its ETH holdings. It recently sold about $74.5 million worth of ETH, signaling a move away from its previous crypto-heavy strategy.