🎂 Happy 1-Year Anniversary to the ETH ETFs! To celebrate, I made you a chart on SΞR - tracking daily inflows since launch. 🟠 = Days with >$500M inflows 🟣 = ATH for Inflows (Today: $721M) Cheers to more 🟠 ahead.

The rETHinking of the internet starts with somETHing That somETHing is a mETHod And that mETHod is ETHereum

$ETH liberates assets from bank and stock exchange silos.

I wanted to share some thoughts on the distinct narratives of Bitcoin and Ethereum, as this distinction is crucial for Ethereum stakeholders. Bitcoin’s narrative advantage is straightforward: it stems from being first. By virtue of being first, Bitcoin is the default, the flag bearer for crypto. It will always hold that distinction, and therefore always derive branding advantages from it. Ethereum also has a claim to being first as the original, fully generalizable smart contract platform. However, that narrative isn’t as compelling as Bitcoin’s simpler "first decentralized currency" branding. Ethereum’s primary narrative, the one that drives most of its value, is that it is the "everything protocol": the World Computer. The idea of Ethereum as a single protocol capable of handling all types of economic and digital activity has the greatest potential for accruing value of any blockchain/cryptocurrency based narrative, but unlike the "first decentralized currency" narrative, this potential is heavily dependent on Ethereum’s actual adoption levels and economic activity. Currently, Ethereum is experiencing the type of adoption that strongly supports this narrative. Two areas in particular stand out: First, Ethereum has emerged as the default base layer for various independent execution protocols, especially rollup-based networks. The overwhelming majority of these protocols are built on Ethereum, creating a powerful network effect for Ethereum as a settlement and data availability layer. The ceiling for adoption here is practically unlimited, constrained only by data availability, which remains relatively inexpensive. This is not even a hard constraint, as Ethereum Execution Protocols can utilize Ethereum’s security even while relying on external data availability layers. Second, Ethereum is seeing significant promise through the modularization of its native asset, ETH, via the EigenLayer protocol. EigenLayer enables ETH to secure virtually any type of electronic or internet-based protocol. Most promisingly, EigenLayer, with its ETH-secured AVSs (Autonomous Verifiable Services), is now the fastest-growing project in the blockchain space, measured by monthly active developers. However, certain areas remain concerning. Last year, Solana temporarily took the lead from Ethereum in terms of DEX volume. Ethereum has since reclaimed that position, but the fact that centralized chains can achieve very high throughput has allowed them to gain adoption in specific low-value economic activities. The comparative lack of decentralization has indeed handicapped these competitors, making them less trustworthy for high-value use cases. As a result, Ethereum commands the vast majority of total value locked and adoption of real-world assets: applications where security matters most. Still, Ethereum stakeholders should not underestimate the importance of second-order effects arising from low-value economic activities like DEX volume. Complacency in this area could gradually erode Ethereum’s dominance, potentially weakening its overall narrative. Fortunately, Ethereum’s leadership appears aware of this risk. The focus on modular scalability through the rollup-centric roadmap is now combined with renewed efforts to rapidly scale mainnet-executed transactions via the recently announced ZKL1 roadmap. This initiative is extremely promising. The intent of this post is not to urge the leadership: they clearly recognize the importance of total dominance in onchain activity. Rather, it’s a reminder for all Ethereum stakeholders: achieving and maintaining dominance in onchain economic activity is essential to fulfilling Ethereum’s full narrative and market potential.

Today in @BanklessHQ: a toolkit for your onchain private life 🥷 @davewardonline runs down the privacy protocols that let you transact free from wandering eyes. feat: @zkp2p @RAILGUN_Project @fluidkey @0xprivacypools @Veildotcash link to full read below

Wall Street seems to have a growing appetite for crypto. Wait until they learn about crypto with yield… Welcome to the machine ⚙️

.@POTUS: "The reason the last administration was so eager to regulate and restrict A.I. was so they could limit this technology to just a few large companies — allowing them to centralize it, censor it, control it, weaponize it... This is the OPPOSITE of my approach."

Killer ETH report by @artemis "Much like how Bitcoin overcame early skepticism to earn recognition as “digital gold,” Ether (ETH) is establishing its distinct identity—not by emulating Bitcoin’s narrative, but by maturing into a more versatile and foundational asset. ETH is not simply analogous to a cloud computing security, nor is it limited to serving as a utility token for transaction fees or a source of protocol revenue. Rather, it represents a scarce, programmable, and economically essential reserve asset—one that underpins the security, settlement, and functionality of a progressively institutionalized on-chain financial ecosystem." Absolutely nailed it. Everyone go read.

🟢 SΞR NEWS: Renzo Protocol is joining the Strategic ETH Reserve with 1,050 ETH, claiming the #38 spot. @RenzoProtocol is a leading restaking and yield strategy protocol on EigenLayer and Symbotic. DeFi big brains are accumulating ETH. Take note.

Arthur Hayes sweeps 5 more punks for 243.82 ETH / $900k He now owns 7 punks.