Ethereum will lead the tokenisation of real-world assets, BlackRock said in its 2026 outlook.
The $362 billion blockchain network already enjoys a dominant head start. Some 66% of all tokenised assets are on Ethereum, dwarfing Binance’s BNB Chain ecosystem which commands 10%, according to BlackRock.
Other notable players in the space include Solana at 5%, Arbitrum at 4%, Stellar at 4%, and Avalanche at 3%. Combined, they are all well under Ethereum’s market share.
“As we look towards the next era of tokenisation, Ethereum may be poised to be a beneficiary of growth,” said Jay Jacobs, US head of equity exchange-traded funds at BlackRock and author of the report.
Floundering price
BlackRock’s projection comes as Ethereum’s price has floundered in recent months.
The second biggest crypto is trading at around $3,000, nearly 40% below its all-time high set back in August. It is down 10% over the past year despite macroeconomic tailwinds that have pushed assets like technology stocks and gold to new all-time highs.
But despite the poor price performance, Wall Street is making big bets on Ethereum.
In December, JPMorgan picked the network for its first-ever tokenised money market fund, an asset class valued at $9 trillion. In January, Morgan Stanley filed for an Ethereum exchange-traded fund product.
ETFs backed by the crypto asset are seeing strong investment. BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust ETF has $11 billion in assets under management, data compiled by DefiLlama shows. Similar ETFs issued by Grayscale and Fidelity also have notched billions in AUM.
Digital asset treasury firms are also buying and staking Ethereum tokens. Bitmine, the DAT helmed by crypto bull Tom Lee, reported purchasing another $100 million of the crypto on Tuesday, adding to its $13 billion stash.
“Corporate players such as digital asset treasury companies are typically long-term holders,”Fabian Dori, chief investment officer at Sygnum Bank, told DL News.
“By acquiring and staking ETH exposure, they reduce the liquid supply, which may support upside price discovery,” Dori said.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has described the blockchain as a “civilisational infrastructure.”
Buy AI, defence
The BlackRock 2026 outlook report also projects further growth in the artificial intelligence and defence sectors.
“Amid the AI revolution many fear we may be entering a bubble — but the data tells a different story,” Jacobs wrote. “The continued adoption and advancement of AI has wide-ranging implications.”
To be sure, BlackRock said that some investors may take profits and sell shares in AI companies.
“We believe many investors are looking to diversify within their AI exposure, and their attention could soon shift to areas like defence, where spending has risen amidst shifts from physical systems towards digital capabilities.”
“While AI or digital infrastructure has garnered more attention than defence in recent years, we believe investor attention could increase as new defense technologies and risks continue to emerge.”
