Ethereum (ETH) is increasingly being presented as a fundamental financial infrastructure rather than a speculative crypto asset, according to BlackRock, which highlights the dominant role of blockchain in stablecoins and tokenized assets.
The report shows that over 65% of tokenized assets are currently issued on Ethereum, significantly surpassing other blockchains.
BlackRock presents Ethereum as a potential 'toll road' for tokenization, where value is generated by transaction flow, settlement, and issuance rather than by trading activity.
The use of stablecoins exceeds crypto trading volumes
One of the key data points in the report shows that transaction volumes in stablecoins have surpassed crypto spot trading volumes.
BlackRock interprets this change as evidence that the adoption of blockchain is increasingly tied to functional financial activity rather than speculative trading cycles.
Stablecoins are described as an early and concrete example of tokenization in practice, allowing assets to be issued, traded, settled, and recorded directly on-chain.
The report notes that this activity is already taking place on a large scale, indicating that blockchain-based finance could extend beyond purely crypto-native use cases.
The role of Ethereum in tokenized assets and private markets
The report links the adoption of stablecoins to the potential expansion of tokenization into private credit and real-world assets, areas traditionally constrained by settlement frictions and operational complexity.
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Ethereum's share in tokenized assets positions it as the primary settlement layer if tokenization continues to expand into these markets.
BlackRock places Ethereum within broader infrastructure themes, comparing its function to that of electrical grids and data networks rather than consumer-facing investment products.
Tokenized assets are defined as digital representations of ownership rights that can be issued, settled, and recorded on a blockchain, separating their utility from price movements in crypto markets.
This positioning aligns with data from RWA.xyz, which shows that Ethereum hosts the majority of tokenized real-world assets by value.
Additionally, an analysis by the Bank for International Settlements identifies tokenization as a structural change in the infrastructure of financial markets.
Although the report makes no price predictions, it centers the relevance of Ethereum on its settlement share, transaction throughput, and usage as infrastructure, highlighting its evolving role in tokenized financial markets rather than in speculative cycles.
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