Institutional influx drives Ethereum ecosystem explosion: TVL is expected to surpass one trillion dollars by 2026

Can Ethereum’s Total Locked Value (TVL) ( achieve tenfold growth? Sharplink Co-CEO Joseph Chalom recently proposed this idea on social media, believing that with the proliferation of institutional investors and multi-chain applications, this goal is not just a dream.

According to Ethereum Treasuries data, Sharplink Gaming currently holds 797,700 ETH, worth approximately $2.33 billion, making it one of the companies with the largest publicly disclosed ETH holdings. This large position reflects institutional confidence in the Ethereum ecosystem’s long-term prospects.

Stablecoin Ecosystem Expansion: Expected to Break $500 Billion by Year-End

From an infrastructure perspective, the stablecoin market is accelerating. Chalom predicts that the total market cap of stablecoins will reach $500 billion by the end of this year, representing about a 62% increase from the current $308.46 billion. Notably, over 54% of stablecoin trading activity occurs on the Ethereum chain, indicating that stablecoin expansion directly drives TVL growth on Ethereum.

As of press time, Ethereum’s TVL is approximately $68.2 billion. If the stablecoin market grows as expected, Ethereum’s TVL as a platform for mainstream stablecoins has significant potential.

RWA Tokenization Sector Heats Up: $300 Billion Market Awaits

In addition to stablecoins, tokenization of real-world assets )RWA( is becoming a new growth engine. Chalom estimates that the RWA market will reach a scale of $300 billion by 2026, with related asset management assets growing tenfold—from single funds, stocks, and bonds tokenization to a comprehensive fund ecosystem.

This trend has been validated by financial giants. JPMorgan, Franklin Templeton, BlackRock, and other traditional financial institutions have shown increasing interest in RWA over the past year, and their participation will bring continuous inflows of real assets into Ethereum.

ETH Price Volatility and Sovereign Wealth Funds as New Variables

In terms of market sentiment, ETH has recently performed steadily but somewhat weakly. According to the latest data, ETH is currently priced at $3.10K, down 6.52% over the past 30 days, with an annual decline of 6.90%. Despite short-term pressure, Chalom believes that sovereign wealth funds’ demand for Ethereum holdings and tokenization activities will increase 5 to 10 times within the next 12 months.

The involvement of such institutional investors often signifies increased recognition and will significantly boost market confidence.

On-Chain AI and Prediction Markets: Expanding the Ecosystem Application Layer

Additionally, Chalom is optimistic about the prospects of on-chain AI agents and prediction markets, believing that these two sectors will enter mainstream application stages by 2026, injecting new activity and value sources into the Ethereum ecosystem.

Overall, stablecoins, RWA, sovereign wealth funds, and new application layers are driving four waves of growth that are laying the foundation for Ethereum’s TVL breakthrough. Although market cycles will continue to fluctuate, these trend signals are already quite clear.