Fundstrat
Why 2025? Tom Lee & Cathie Wood on ETH’s Big Moment
10/17/2025, 7:32:13 PM
Economic Summary
- DAPs (decentralized asset products) began appearing on Ethereum and Solana in 2025 as foundations, regulators, and Wall Street grew more receptive, enabling institutional-style exposure and new corporate structures for tokenized assets (relevant to ETH, SOL).
- MicroStrategy's 2020 pivot illustrated a corporate route for institutional Bitcoin exposure: when BTC was around $11,000, firms needing equity instruments used MicroStrategy (MSTR) to gain crypto exposure, producing large shareholder returns despite the company’s stagnant core business.
- Stablecoins emerged as a breakout product in 2025, creating major crypto-native firms (Circle, Tether); Tether’s cited ~$500B valuation and extreme revenue-per-employee metrics highlight how crypto-native banking models can be vastly more profitable than traditional banks, supporting growth on smart-contract blockchains.
Bullish
- DAPs enable institutions to get crypto exposure through corporate equities like MicroStrategy (MSTR).
- Favorable 2025 regulation and Wall Street interest accelerate rebuilding on smart-contract chains (ETH, SOL).
- Stablecoins' breakout (Circle, Tether) proves product-market fit and fuels profitable crypto-native banking models.
Bearish
- DAPs contradict the original decentralized vision (Satoshi), risking centralization via corporate shells.
- MicroStrategy's core security business shows near-zero growth, threatening sustainability of equity-driven crypto exposure.
- Huge private valuations (e.g., Tether) raise concentration and regulatory risk concerns.
Bullish tickers
ETHSOLBTCMSTRUSDTCIRCLEGBTC
Bearish tickers
MSTRUSDT
BTC
1 price targets
11000
Bullish
Central example of institutional equity exposure demand; MicroStrategy used shares to provide BTC exposure.
Bearish
Price volatility and historical lows show risk; corporate wrappers may misprice underlying volatility.
ETH
Bullish
2025 regulatory shift and stablecoin growth make Ethereum a natural home for DAPs and institutional activity.
Bearish
Adoption of DAPs could introduce centralizing corporate layers onto neutral smart-contract chains.
SOL
Bullish
Solana benefits from renewed Wall Street interest and DAP momentum in 2025.
Bearish
Similar centralization risks as other smart-contract chains when corporate token products emerge.
MSTR
Bullish
Pioneered corporate-equity exposure to Bitcoin, generating outsized shareholder returns via treasury strategy.
Bearish
Core security business exhibits near-zero growth, exposing shareholder risk if Bitcoin strategy falters.
USDT
Bullish
Tether exemplifies highly profitable crypto-native 'banking' and stablecoin product-market fit.
Bearish
Extremely large private valuation and concentration create regulatory and counterparty concerns.
CIRCLE
Bullish
Circle is a breakout stablecoin company driving institutional activity on smart-contract chains.
Bearish
Regulatory scrutiny and IPO dynamics could pose challenges.
GBTC
Bullish
Was an early institutional vehicle for Bitcoin exposure prior to corporate pivots like MSTR.
Bearish
Closed-end fund structure historically limited some institutional mandates.
JPM
Bullish
Mentioned as a contrast to demonstrate crypto firms’ revenue-per-employee advantage.
Bearish
Traditional banks face competition from more profitable crypto-native firms.
OSTK
Bullish
Referenced as an early corporate route for Bitcoin exposure before MicroStrategy.
Bearish
Historically one of the few public ways to access Bitcoin exposure, but limited scale.
People mentioned
SatoshiBradCathyTom