Ethereum TVL may surge in 2026 as stablecoins, tokenized assets, and institutional investors expand adoption, reinforcing Ethereum’s role as a global settlement layer.
Ethereum’s total value locked could rise sharply in 2026, according to Sharplink co-CEO Joseph Chalom. He sees growth in institutional use cases, driving continued growth. Ethereum could increase its standing as the main settlement layer. Consequently, the market participants expect more onchain activity and capital inflows.
Institutional Stablecoins Position Ethereum for Expansion
Chalom said Ethereum TVL could grow ten-fold in 2026, according to his public X post. He emphasized stablecoins and institutional adoption as key sources of growth. Therefore, Ethereum’s network fundamentals seem to take on increasing importance when it comes to possible liquidity expansion in the future.
In 2026, I believe Ethereum’s Total Value Locked (TVL) will increase 10X. Why and how? 🧵
Views ≠ investment advice.
— Joseph Chalom (@joechalom) December 26, 2025
The stablecoin market could hit $500 billion by late 2026. Current market cap is right around $308 billion with potential growth of roughly 62%. As a result, the addition of more stablecoin could dramatically increase the liquidity on Ethereum.
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Global stablecoin use cases are also growing in the field of cross-border remittances, retail payments and institutional transactions. Meanwhile, Ethereum claims the title of the most suitable settlement layer. As a result, the network demand can keep growing steadily.
Several major institutions already have stablecoins that are based on blockchain infrastructure. JPMorgan and Paypal have active stablecoin products. Meanwhile, Japan and South Korea announced local-currency stablecoins, and European Union banks got permission to issue tokens.
Chalom noted that stablecoin adoption creates internal crypto infrastructure at institutions. Firms proceed from insufficient exposure to operational readiness. Subsequently, crypto adoption by a wider audience would require a lower effort that supports the future expansion of real-world assets.
Sharplink Gaming is still a major holder of the Ethereum treasury. It is the 2nd largest public Ethereum treasury company. According to Ethereum Treasuries data, the firm has 797,704 ETH, which is worth about $2.33 billion.
Tokenization, Sovereign Funds, and AI May Drive TVL Surge
Tokenized real-world assets could become worth $300 billion in 2026, according to Chalom. He expects tokenized assets under management to increase ten-fold. This shift may grow from single instruments to full fund complexes to create stepwise TVL growth.
Goldman Sachs and BNY Mellon are teaming up on tokenized money-market and liquidity funds. Franklin Templeton and BlackRock also signaled strong tokenization interest. Therefore, if there are large movements of funds on the chain, TVL can be increased rapidly by concentrated events.
Chalom also expects the sovereign wealth fund ETH holdings to increase substantially. He projects an increase of five to 10 times in 2026. Previously, pensions and endowments had access to crypto via ETFs, but competitive dynamics could bring forward direct participation.
Ethereum’s longevity as an operating blockchain contributes to its attractiveness to large allocators. Its preeminence in stablecoins, RWAs, and tokenized equities is still evident. Therefore, ETH increasingly looks like a core technology to have in long-term portfolios.
Onchain AI agents could add more fuel to Ethereum activities in the year 2026. These systems need decentralized trust, reliable settlement, and 100% uptime. Ethereum has over one million validators and has not been down since it began more than a decade ago.
Prediction markets may also grow explosively onchain. Many platforms are made natively on blockchain infrastructure. Over the last period, these markets could deepen liquidity, which reinforces the expectation for substantial Ethereum TVL growth.
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