Ethereum News: BlackRock, JPMorgan Builds Make ETH a Wall Street Asset, Tom Lee Argues

Ethereum News: Fundstrat's Tom Lee says BlackRock BUIDL, and Robinhood Chain signal institutional tokenization is reshaping Ethereum. The post Ethereum News: BlackRock, JPMorgan Builds Make ETH a Wall Street Asset, Tom Lee Argues appeared first on Cryptonews .

In the lastest Ethereum news, Fundstrat’s Tom Lee is arguing that Ethereum’s next major move has nothing to do with crypto-native speculation, and everything to do with institutional capital that is already deployed and building. Writing in Bitmine’s July Chairman’s message, Lee pointed to BlackRock BUIDL, JPMorgan MONY, and Robinhood Chain as concrete evidence that Wall Street has moved from observation to construction on Ethereum’s rails. The ETH price currently sits near $1,880, about 60% below its 2025 peak near $5,000.

The gap between that peak and current levels is the central question Lee addresses. His read is that it reflects a regime change, not a structural ceiling, the first era of ICOs, NFTs, ETFs, and stablecoins has run its course, and the institutions now building on Ethereum represent a fundamentally different demand base with longer time horizons and larger capital pools. Ethereum (ETH) 24h 7d 30d 1y All time Discover: The Best Token Presales Ethereum News: BlackRock, JPMorgan, and the Tokenization Build-Out Lee’s institutional case rests on names that move markets in traditional finance.

BlackRock BUIDL, the asset manager’s tokenized Treasury fund, now holds roughly $2.6 billion and has earned Moody’s top money-market rating (Moody’s cited). JPMorgan MONY extended the bank’s tokenization push that began with Onyx in 2020, adding another institutional-grade vehicle to the Ethereum ecosystem.

Electric Capital data cited by Lee puts nearly 6,000 developers on the EVM stack, ranking Ethereum first among all chains for new builders, a metric that matters more to institutions evaluating long-term platform risk than short-term price momentum. 1/ Bitmine released its July Chairman's Message titled "ETH is the Cure for the Uncanny Valley of Wealth" – Two exponential tailwinds for Ethereum – The crypto headwinds of 2026 are ending – Bitmine primed for next bull cycle Link https://t.co/RHYkprmhCD — Bitmine (NYSE-BMNR) $ETH (@BitMNR) July 16, 2026 Wall Street is building on Ethereum, Lee argues in the Chairman’s message, contrasting 2022’s crypto bear-market backdrop with continued institution-led development.

In 2025 and 2026, institutional crypto infrastructure has continued to expand even as ETH price fell sharply from its cycle highs. That divergence between on-chain institutional activity and spot price is the core of his thesis. For more on how BlackRock’s ETF flows are reinforcing this dynamic, see this analysis of BlackRock ETF inflows and their ETH price implications .

Discover: The Best Crypto to Diversify Your Portfolio Robinhood Chain: ETH as Settlement Money Robinhood Chain, launched July 1 on Arbitrum, handed Lee one of his more striking data points. Within two weeks of going live, it ranked third among all networks by DEX volume at about $811 million daily, briefly surpassing Ethereum itself according to DefiLlama. Ethereum has since reclaimed that position, and cumulative Robinhood Chain volume has crossed $1 billion.

In the Chairman’s message news, Lee argues that Robinhood Chain’s use of ETH (as described in his discussion of the network’s fees and how it settles) makes it a meaningful Ethereum use case.