Ethereum pivots from retail trading to institutional settlement hub, Bitwise says

Bitwise data shows Ethereum now handles more institutional stablecoin flows than retail retail trades.

Ethereum (ETH) isn’t just for non-fungible tokens or and decentralized finance degens anymore. According to a new analysis from Bitwise Europe, the network’s base layer is quietly transforming into a heavyweight settlement system for institutional money — while retail activity shifts elsewhere.

The data reveals that Ethereum is “evolving from a retail toll road to a freight terminal for institutional-grade use cases” as stablecoin transactions now account for the majority of on-chain activity. With more than $127 billion in stablecoins circulating on Ethereum’s blockchain, the trend suggests institutions are increasingly using the network “for institutional treasury flows and on-chain dollars,” the analysts say.

Meanwhile, the DeFi frenzy and NFT mania that once characterized Ethereum have largely migrated to layer-2 solutions.

“NFT activity spiked sharply during the 2021–2022 cycle but has since dropped significantly. This reflects both market cooling and migration to L2s, which now harbour new NFT launches.”

Bitwise Europe

Ethereum’s mainnet now primarily handles core infrastructure functions: ETH transfers, regulated tokenized assets, and the fundamental systems supporting rollups and cross-chain bridges. The transition appears intentional.

With upgrades like Pectra already live and PeerDAS/Fusaka coming soon, Ethereum is “no longer scaling for smaller protocols,” the analysts write, adding that the network is now aiming billions of layer-2 transactions, tokenized treasuries, and institutional settlement flows.

The evolution of Ethereum’s mainnet role has been foreseen by its developers for some time. In early 2024, Ethereum core developer Eric Conner suggested that the network’s mainnet in the long term won’t serve as the platform where daily users would want to transact tokens.

Addressing the prevalent concern about high transaction fees on Ethereum, Conner pointed out that while Ethereum’s mainnet may not be the ideal platform for daily transactions in the long term, it will still serve as the foundation for decentralized applications and settlement layers.