Ethereum Treasuries Hold $16B in ETH as Vitalik Buterin Backs

• Ethereum treasury firms hold $16B in 3.7M ETH, led by BitMine Immersion.
• Vitalik Buterin backs these firms but warns borrowing risks could destabilize markets.
• Buterin sees Ethereum growing with DeFi and privacy tech, unlike Bitcoin.

Ethereum treasury companies are popping up as a fresh way for big investors to hold and manage ETH. With over $16 billion worth of 3.7 million ETH already locked in.

Vitalik Buterin and Tom Lee from Fundstrat are both pumped about the possibilities. But they’re also waving red flags about risks that could rattle the market. Companies like BitMine Immersion are leading the charge, changing how institutions enter into Ethereum.

High Rewards, High Risks

On the podcast, Buterin said these treasury companies make Ethereum stronger by giving more options to hold ETH. But he’s worried about too much borrowing, which could trigger massive sell offs and mess up the market. Still, he believes solid companies can keep things steady and make this trend stick around. He even cracked a joke, calling the US government his favorite “treasury company” for helping get back stolen ETH.

Tom Lee, who heads Fundstrat and BitMine Immersion, is super bullish on Ethereum treasuries. He says they’re not like Bitcoin treasuries because ETH can earn staking rewards, swings more in price, and is a bigger player in financial systems.

Buterin also looked back on Ethereum’s wild ride from a college project to a global powerhouse, shocked by stuff like the 2016 DAO hack, the boom of DeFi and NFTs, and fast leaps in privacy tech like zero knowledge proofs. He’s advocating for private Ethereum wallets as the norm, with such features as Privacy Pools to safely have everything but prevent dirty tricks, getting ahead of old school finance.

Pitting Ethereum against Bitcoin, He finds respect between their creators but notes different atmospheres, with Ethereum like a teen in a growth spurt, whereas Bitcoin is still getting its feet wet.