Ethereum becomes preferred treasury asset for tech-savvy firms: Ray Youssef

Corporations are increasingly viewing Ethereum as a critical infrastructure component, fueling a surge in ETH allocations within corporate treasuries, according to Ray Youssef, CEO of finance app NoOnes.

“Ethereum starts to look like a hybrid between tech equity and digital currency. This appeals to treasury strategists looking beyond passive storage,” Youssef told Cointelegraph.

Top corporate Ethereum treasuries have purchased at least $1.6 billion worth of Ether (ETH) in the past month. On Monday, BitMine, chaired by Fundstrat’s Tom Lee, revealed that it holds 163,142 ETH, valued at around $480 million.

SharpLink Gaming, founded by Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin, leads corporate ETH holdings with over 280,000 ETH as of Sunday, totaling over $840 million. It has acquired large amounts in recent days.

Other notable corporate buyers include Bit Digital, which has more than 100,000 ETH, and Blockchain Technology Consensus Solutions (BTCS), which increased its holdings to 29,122 ETH following a $62.4 million raise. GameSquare also announced a $100 million ETH treasury plan.

BTCS’s shares are rising after announcing its ETH treasury policy. Source: TylerDYoussef said the shift shows utility now rivals narrative in driving institutional choices. “Bitcoin has long held the title of digital gold standard, but Ethereum is gradually winning over institutions that seek to align their balance sheet with the networks that drive tokenized finance,” he said.

Related: Ethereum investors pile into ETH amid massive weekly surge

ETH’s yield, compliance drive institutional appeal

Youssef said ETH’s staking yield, programmability and compliance-friendly roadmap have made the cryptocurrency appealing to “forward-looking companies, especially those already involved in the digital economy.”

He predicted that Ethereum’s influence will continue to grow. “Ethereum increasingly becomes the digital rail for tokenized assets, stablecoins, and smart contract execution, becoming a preferred reserve cryptocurrency for firms operating in these areas.”

Most stablecoins and real-world asset (RWA) protocols are built on Ethereum or Ethereum-compatible chains. According to RWA.xyz, Ethereum dominates the RWA market with 315 projects valued at $7.76 billion, commanding a 58.1% market share.

Following behind is the Ethereum layer-2 solution ZKsync Era, hosting 37 projects worth $2.27 billion and holding nearly 17% of the market. Solana ranks third with 79 projects valued at $553.8 million and a smaller 4.15% market share, though it showed the strongest growth rate of 22.28%.

Ethereum is leading in RWA. Source: RWA.xyzYoussef called Ethereum’s dominance in tokenized US Treasurys the beginning of broader adoption for onchain debt, equity and yield products. “Ethereum provides the standards and liquidity for these instruments to thrive,” he said.

Related: Bit Digital shifts treasury strategy with 100K ETH buy; stock surges 29%

Regulations remain a hurdle

Meanwhile, Youssef noted that regulatory uncertainty remains a key barrier to ETH treasury adoption. He said there is a need for better guidance on how staking is classified, whether it counts as a service, a security or something different.

For corporations to jump in, they also need clarity on accounting, tax treatment of staking rewards and custody standards. “Large corporations tend to move slowly because they can’t afford legal ambiguity. Once those boxes are ticked, adoption will accelerate.”

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