Ethereum News: Is ETH the New Institutional Darling?

In Ethereum news, after years of talking about the “flippening,” ETH bulls have finally got something to celebrate.

Ethereum flipped Bitcoin, not in terms of market cap value, of course, but in the percentage of supply held in institutional coffers.

Ethereum treasury companies now hold a larger percentage of ETH than Bitcoin treasury companies have of BTC.

After trailing far behind Bitcoin in both treasury adoption and corporate accumulation, Ethereum news saw the has quietly (then suddenly) flipped the script.

With 3.59% versus Bitcoin’s 3.49%, there’s a subtle shift with seismic implications for asset allocators and treasury managers alike.

Ethereum News: How Treasury Companies Went From Underdog to Institutional Mainstay

Remember when Bitcoin was the only digital asset considered “blue chip” by boards and hedge funds?

Ethereum, with its vibe of perpetual innovation and sometimes chaotic governance, was relegated to the role of scrappy upstart.

With a persistent uncertainty about its status as a security versus a commodity, institutions didn’t run headlong to accumulate ETH for their balance sheets.

But today, Ethereum news has seen treasury companies across Wall Street tell a different story. Institutional ETH holdings have gone up and to the right.

Many of the same Fortune 500s, big asset managers, and fintech firms who once limited themselves to BTC now see ETH as essential alongside cash and dollar-denominated treasuries.

The significance isn’t just numerical. The trend in Ethereum treasury companies is indicative of a real, ideological turn.

Liquidity, staking yields, and Layer 2 expansion all make ETH attractive as both a working asset and a macro bet.

Who Owns All That ETH?

Behind these impressive numbers are some big names and, frankly, bigger wallets. Companies like BitMine Immersion (BMNR) are at the top of the leaderboard, publicly announcing holdings of over 2.65 million ETH, a whopping 2% of supply.

BitMine is backed by some of the biggest investors in the industry. From Ark Invest’s Cathie Wood to Galaxy Digital, the company’s aggressive strategy shows how institutions are ramping up exposure.

BMNR stock shot up by 3% this week as the company made additional ETH purchases. Unlike conservative, buy-and-hold BTC, Ethereum value is that it enables companies to serve a dual purpose.

And there’s a growing appetite for ETH-driven staking yields and its evolving role as programmable collateral for real-world assets.

Besides BitMine, other corporates and fintech innovators are building ETH reserves as well, for everything from operational liquidity to validator node deployment.

The underlying rationale, echoed by CFOs across the sector, centers on making capital work harder.

ETH presents opportunities for staking, DeFi interaction, and yield strategies that go beyond simple price speculation.

Tom Lee’s Ethereum Thesis

If ever there were a poster child for the ETH institutional narrative in 2025, it’s Tom Lee. Well known for his macro calls and digital asset advocacy, Lee has gone unequivocally bullish on Ethereum.

He publicly predicted price targets at $12,000 and above by year-end, and described ETH as “the biggest macro trade for the next 10-15 years.”

Lee’s conviction is mirrored by his firm’s allocation strategy as well as by other institutional titans entering the market.

The combination of technical upgrades, real-world asset tokenization, and attractive staking yields provides a reinforcing loop.

And more and more Ethereum Treasury companies are expanding their balance sheets. Lee’s public stance on Ethereum is more than just news headline-grabbing optimism.

His view is echoed by executive teams at major funds and asset managers. Many increasingly see Ethereum as a platform for both financial experimentation and corporate value storage.

ETH vs BTC: Changing the Institutional Playbook

So, is Ethereum the new institutional darling? If the treasury numbers are a leading indicator, the answer is leaning toward yes.

Bitcoin’s story is about scarcity and digital gold, appealing to allocators in search of simplicity and hard-capped supply.

Ethereum’s narrative of institutional evolution, composability, and staking has matured into something far more resonant with today’s capital markets.

The “flippening” in DAT-held percentages marks an ideological shift as much as a numerical one.

Ethereum is no longer the junior partner in the blue-chip digital assets conversation. Institutions are not only buying, but building with ETH.