- 69 entities now hold over 4M ETH ($17.6B), while ETFs control another 6.36M ETH, over 5% of supply.
- Analyst Miles Deutscher says ETH treasury activity is outpacing Bitcoin, with $20B in idle cash possibly rotating in.
- Joseph Lubin predicts ETH could flip Bitcoin within a year, though skeptics warn of leverage and insider-driven moves.
Ethereum is quietly stacking up some serious institutional weight. Data shows that 69 different entities now hold more than 4 million ETH in their treasuries — worth around $17.6 billion. That’s roughly 3.4% of ETH’s total supply tucked away by companies betting long on its role in DeFi, staking, and smart contracts. Analysts say this marks a turning point, where Ethereum’s adoption story is less about retail hype and more about deep-pocketed institutions looking to secure their slice of Web3’s backbone.
Big Holders and ETF Support
BitMine Immersion Technologies is leading the charge with about 1.5 million ETH (a massive $6.6 billion), followed by Sharplink Gaming with roughly 740,800 ETH. The Ether Machine and Ethereum Foundation also add to the pile, holding 345,400 and 231,600 ETH respectively. On top of that, Ethereum ETF reserves now control another 6.36 million ETH — about $27.4 billion worth — which makes up over 5% of the total supply. That institutional layer is huge, because ETFs don’t just lock up supply, they signal legitimacy to traditional finance.
ETH Outpacing BTC in Treasury Activity
Analyst Miles Deutscher notes something interesting: Ethereum is now trading more actively than Bitcoin among treasury firms. He argues ETH has a better “risk-adjusted return profile” and looks less exhausted than BTC, especially after Bitcoin’s recent run. Deutscher also pointed to $20 billion in idle treasury cash that could soon rotate into ETH, potentially fueling another leg higher. Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin even went as far as predicting ETH could overtake Bitcoin in market cap within a year, with treasury adoption being the key driver.
Caution Flags Still Waving
Of course, not everyone is convinced. Vitalik Buterin himself has warned about the risks of leverage and cascading liquidations if things get overheated. Bitcoin advocate Samson Mow called the whole trend insider-driven, claiming some players are just flipping BTC into ETH temporarily before switching back. Whether that’s true or not, it underscores the fact that Ethereum’s treasury boom isn’t without risk. Still, with billions already locked up and institutional confidence rising, ETH’s role as the financial engine of Web3 looks stronger than ever.
