Is 2026 the year Ethereum breaks through?
Since the Presidential election in the United States, the state of crypto changed completely. With the entry of a pro-crypto administration, we had a year of massive explosion in regards to buildout.
Could this be exceeded in 2026?
There is a case that could be made that we are just getting started. Obviously, this discussion is extending far beyond price action. Markets will do what they do. However, in terms of a transition of the financial system, it is already underway.
This could be a massive boost for Ethereum. So far, the leading smart contract network has been the punching bag of many in the crypto world. Will this continue or is this where we see Ethereum step forward?
It is something I will take a look at.
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Blockchain is gaining acceptance. In my view, we are now to the point where we are looking at the first "Killer App" for crypto. Stablecoins are about to explode. We are going to see many major banks entering the market. Some have publicly announced what they are planning; others are looking at it in silence.
Individuals such as Tom Lee believe that Ethereum is the choice for Wall Street. If this is the case, 2026 could be a massive year for the network. Of course, to be able to satisfy this demand, if there, scaling is necessary.
Here is where some of the decisions by the core developers enter the equation.
Upgrades will be the focus in the coming year. There are two major forks planned. This will help to increase the throughput for the entire network.
The coming year is set to be crucial for Ethereum scaling. In 2026, the Glamsterdam fork will bring perfect parallel processing to the chain and ratchet up the gas limit to 200 million, up from 60 million today.
A significant number of validators will switch over from reexecuting transactions to verifying zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs instead. This sets the Ethereum layer 1 on a path to scale up to 10,000 transactions per second (TPS) and potentially beyond, though that target won’t be hit in 2026.
There is also intense focus upon the second layer.
Meanwhile, data blobs will increase (potentially up to 72 or more per block), enabling the layer 2s (L2s) to process hundreds of thousands of transactions per second. L2s are becoming easier to use as well; ZKsync’s recent Atlas upgrade allows funds to stay on mainnet but trade in the fast execution environment of chains in ZKsync’s Elastic Network.
For blockchain to be a viable alternative, scaling is crucial. Ethereum has traditionally suffered from high fees along with backlog during busy periods. At times, the fees surpassed that of the traditional financial system. This is not what crypto is based upon.
It is likely the reason why the core developers are tending to the matter. We are at the point where demand could fill blocks. In fact, the scaling was intentionally slowed to not have too many empty blocks.
These two areas could be a boom for Ethereum. The latter is still in its infancy but we will likely see a massive step forward during the upcoming year. A lot of regulation is still required although the financial sector is now pushing institutional assets, a lower barrier to approval.
What does this mean for the price of the token?
At this moment, we will assume markets do what they do. Prices move regardless of fundamentals. We are concentrating upon the infrastructure and capabilities of the network. I operate from the belief that, eventually, price will match the value.
We are going to see the tokenization of assets worth hundreds of trillions of dollars. This is not a number that will be reached in 2026. Instead, that is the path over the rest of the decade and into the early 2030s.
Where will financial firms head? Are they going to try other chains or head to the known network?
My guess is the building will take place on Ethereum with wrapped versions heading to the other chains. This will allow for a major liquidity center to open up. With larger institutions, the numbers will accelerate quickly.
This year could be when Ethereum really steps out. Upgrades to the network will help this cause. Wall Street appears ready to build on there with firms such as Blackrock already focusing in that direction.
