'Stablecoin Hub' Ethereum, Market Cap Surpasses $520 Billion [Crypto Briefing]

[Financial News] Ethereum, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, continues its upward trend, surpassing $4,300. Ethereum, which has surged 46% in the past month, is said to be driven by the expansion of the stablecoin ecosystem and the 'Ethereum Treasury Strategy' of U.S. listed companies. 
According to CoinMarketCap, a global cryptocurrency information platform, Ethereum is trading at $4,300, up 1.6% from the previous day (24 hours). It has surged over 22% in the past week, pushing its market cap past $520 billion. This is comparable to Mastercard and ranks 22nd among global assets.
According to Investing.com, Ethereum, which was below $3,000 on the 11th of last month, has entered a rally this month. On the 8th, it surpassed $4,000 and continues to rise steadily.
The key background to Ethereum's strength is its role as a central hub for the stablecoin and Real World Asset Tokenization (RWA) ecosystems. According to NH Investment & Securities, 156 types of stablecoins have been issued on the Ethereum blockchain, with a total issuance of $140.1 billion. This is significantly larger than the second-largest blockchain platform, Tron ($82.7 billion).
In particular, as the U.S. is expected to implement the 'Stablecoin Bill (GENIUS Act)' as early as December, there is a forecast that Ethereum's 'stablecoin hub status' will be solidified. Hong Seong-wook, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, explained, "Ethereum, a highly decentralized blockchain, has never stopped in its 10-year history, and its long track record and reliability will be advantageous when incorporated into the institutional framework."
The inflow of funds into Ethereum spot ETFs is also driving price increases. According to Sosovalue, there has been a net inflow into Ethereum spot ETFs for 13 consecutive weeks. The current total net asset value of Ethereum spot ETFs is $23.38 billion.
Recently, more listed companies are purchasing Ethereum by benchmarking strategies famous for 'Bitcoin Buying Strategy.' Notable examples include Bitmine Immersion (approximately 833,000 ETH), Sharplink Gaming (521,000 ETH), and Ethermachine (345,000 ETH). Ethermachine (Ether Reserve) is currently pursuing a Nasdaq listing through a merger with the SPAC Dynamics.
This is the so-called 'Ethereum Treasury Strategy.' While the core of Bitcoin Treasury is value storage, Ethereum Treasury aims for both value storage and profit generation. Ethermachine's proposal of Ethereum staking (deposit rewards) and Decentralized Finance (DeFi) strategies is in the same context. Bitmine, where Tom Lee, co-founder of Fundstrat and a 'crypto bull,' has joined as chairman of the board, is also reported to secure more than 3% annual Ethereum staking returns.
As a result, domestic investors are focusing on direct investments in Ethereum as well as companies holding Ethereum like Bitmine and Sharplink. According to the Korea Securities Depository, domestic individual investors have recently purchased $263 million and $101.65 million worth of Bitmine and Sharplink stocks, respectively, ranking them as the 1st and 12th most net-bought stocks.
Yu Jin Investment & Securities researcher Cho Tae-na emphasized, "While institutional investors' inflow of Ethereum funds is rapidly increasing, large-scale corporate purchases like those of Bitmine and Sharplink are continuing, putting long-term upward pressure on Ethereum prices," adding that "the overall network fundamentals are positive, so there is no change in the long-term price increase outlook."
elikim@fnnews.com Kim Mi-hee Reporter