Ethereum Holds Above $2,500 as Regulatory Clarity Boosts Institutional Interest
Ethereum is trading just above $2,500 this morning, holding steady after the U.S. Senate passed the GENIUS Act with rare bipartisan support. The move seems to have given ETH a bit of a tailwind, though it’s not exactly soaring—just staying put in a market that’s otherwise pretty jumpy.
Vivek Raman, founder of Ethereum-focused firm Etherealize, has been making the rounds on Wall Street lately, trying to explain why institutions are suddenly so interested in a blockchain that’s been around since 2015. “It’s been nonstop,” he told CoinDesk between meetings at Brookfield Place. “Banks, asset managers—they all want to know how tokenization works, why Layer 2s matter, and why ether is at the center of it.”
Raman’s job, in his own words, is to convince Wall Street that ETH isn’t just another crypto asset. He argues it’s becoming the backbone for everything from stablecoins to tokenized real-world assets. “Every transaction, every tokenized dollar, every Layer 2—it all ties back to ether eventually,” he said. “It’s not just speculative anymore. It’s infrastructure.”
Regulatory Clarity as the Real Catalyst
For years, Ethereum’s status was murky. Was it a security? A commodity? Nobody knew, and that uncertainty kept big money on the sidelines. Raman thinks the real turning point wasn’t the ETH ETF approval—it was the GENIUS Act and broader regulatory shifts that finally gave institutions enough confidence to take Ethereum seriously.
“The ETF helped, sure, but it didn’t settle the big questions,” he said. “Now, with clearer rules, the floodgates are opening. ETH isn’t just a bet on crypto anymore. It’s how value moves in this system.”
He’s got a point. While Circle’s upcoming IPO has grabbed headlines, Raman believes the real story is the quiet rise of Ethereum as the settlement layer for tokenized assets. “Circle gets the spotlight, but ETH gets the actual usage,” he said.
Solana ETF Inches Closer, OKX Expands in Europe
Meanwhile, VanEck’s proposed Solana ETF took a small but meaningful step forward with its listing on the DTCC under the ticker VSOL. It’s a procedural move, but it signals that the fund is getting closer to reality—assuming regulators give the green light.
Canada, as usual, is ahead of the U.S. here. Four Canadian firms already launched Solana ETFs back in April. Whether the U.S. follows suit is still up in the air, but institutional interest in SOL is clearly growing.
In other news, OKX has officially launched regulated platforms in Germany and Poland, offering spot trading, staking, and over 60 crypto-Euro pairs. The exchange is leaning hard into its MiCA compliance and Proof of Reserves reports, likely trying to stand out in a crowded European market.
Markets on Edge Amid Geopolitical Tensions
Bitcoin dipped briefly to $103,396 overnight as Israel-Iran tensions flared, but it bounced back quickly thanks to steady ETF inflows. Ethereum wobbled between $2,460 and $2,800, showing resilience but struggling to break higher.
Gold, often a safe-haven play, stayed stuck below $3,400 as traders waited for clearer signals from the Fed. And in Asia, stocks slipped slightly, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 down 0.15% as geopolitical risks kept investors cautious.
For now, the mood
