Ethereum Foundation rolls out new institution-focused site amid Wall Street’s crypto push

Ethereum Foundation rolls out new institution-focused site amid Wall Street’s crypto push
DeFi
The new website will help guide firms looking to integrate Ethereum into their businesses. Illustrator: Gwen P; Source: Shutterstock
  • The Ethereum Foundation has launched a new website for institutions.
  • It will help guide firms looking to integrate the blockchain into their businesses.
  • It comes as the foundation looks to boost institutional adoption following criticism.

Wall Street is embracing crypto like never before.

But financial institutions may struggle to know where to begin. The Ethereum Foundation is aiming to make this easier for them with the launch of a new website.

On Wednesday, the organisation, which helps develop and maintain the Ethereum blockchain, launched the new online resource to help guide firms looking to integrate the blockchain into their businesses.

“Clear pathways are essential as institutions build on Ethereum,” a post from the foundation said, adding that the site will help guide businesses adopting Ethereum and showcase how the ecosystem is building a new financial system.

The site highlights institutional use cases for Ethereum, including stablecoins, the tokenisation of real-world assets like bonds, and decentralised financial applications.

It also contains statistics on the blockchain’s use, and information on firms like BlackRock, Visa, and eToro, who are already experimenting with Ethereum.

Ethereum is the biggest blockchain for DeFi, with some $118 billion worth of deposits to more than one thousand protocols. It also hosts more than half of the $308 billion stablecoin market.

But the blockchain’s stewards — namely the nonprofit Ethereum Foundation — have previously faced criticism for not doing enough to support institutional adoption on the blockchain compared to its rivals.

Land grab

The move comes amid a crypto land grab among the paragons of traditional finance who are looking to leverage blockchain technology following landmark legislation being approved this summer.

On Tuesday, banking giant Citi announced a partnership with US crypto exchange Coinbase to foster the adoption of stablecoins. The firms plan to build stablecoin on- and off-ramps, streamline settlement, and make digital dollars flow 24/7.

Over the past week, Zelle and Western Union have also revealed plans to integrate stablecoins into their operations.

Enterprise push

Seeing the growing institutional interest, the Ethereum Foundation has sought to make the blockchain more attractive for financial firms looking to integrate the technology.

Last year, the foundation, along with Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, funded research into Wall Street’s interest in Ethereum through Etherealize, a startup focused on integrating traditional finance with the blockchain.

“Institutions need someone to be the face of the organisation that is representing Ethereum,” Tomasz Stańczak, one of the Ethereum Foundation’s co-directors, told DL News in July.

Etherealize has bold plans for adoption.

In September, CEO Vivek Raman told DL News of his ambition to onboard the $16 trillion mortgage market to Ethereum.

“The whole fixed income space of really esoteric objects, such as mortgages, is a huge design space to tokenise those natively,” Raman said.

In addition to courting institutions, representatives from Etherealize met with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s crypto task force in May to discuss how the regulator could accommodate tokenisation of stocks and bonds on the blockchain.

Tim Craig is DL News’ Edinburgh-based DeFi correspondent. Reach out to him with tips at tim@dlnews.com.

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