Foreign media reports that Ethereum has once again been placed at the center of the market following the intensifying discussion surrounding the tokenization of real-world assets. The article argues that while on-chain applications are indeed expanding, including RWA, stablecoins, and DeFi, these developments have not yet directly translated into price support for ETH.
Ethereum still accounts for the majority of RWA
The article mentions that of the current over $30 billion in on-chain RWA value, more than half is deployed on Ethereum. Regarding stablecoins, Ethereum also still carries more than half of the on-chain liquidity. This means that as traditional financial institutions promote tokenization, Ethereum remains one of the most important underlying networks.
Vitalik Buterin recently also mentioned that expanding real-world on-chain use cases is not only to attract more institutional funds, but also to help reduce the over-reliance on leverage in the system and allow the market to return to fundamentals-driven factors.
ETF outflows outweigh fundamentals
However, the article argues that ETH's market performance has not reflected this fundamental advantage. Since 2026, ETH has fallen by more than 30%, making it relatively weak among major altcoins in this round of price declines. Meanwhile, bullish and bearish funds continue to battle around the $2000 level, with leveraged positions accumulating.
More attention is being paid to ETF fund flows. The article states that in May alone, Ethereum ETFs saw outflows of over $500 million. If institutional funds are withdrawing on one hand, and derivatives leverage is increasing on the other, then the market is more likely to view ETH as a highly volatile trading asset rather than a fundamentally driven investment target.
Spot buying has not yet caught up.
The article further points out that Ethereum's leading position in real-world applications does not necessarily mean that ETH will receive sustained buying pressure. If price momentum is insufficient and DeFi positioning does not improve significantly, then the transmission of fundamental expansion to the price will weaken.
In this context, some shareholding increases will be re-examined. The article mentions that, for example, BMNR's previous $50 million purchase, if it did not bring more stable spot demand, it may instead continue to push up leverage levels within the system rather than mitigate volatility.
Overall, the core judgment of this commentary is that Ethereum's dominance in RWA and stablecoins remains solid, but the current price of ETH is more influenced by funding structure and risk appetite, and its fundamental advantages have not yet been fully reflected in market trends.
