Chainfeeds Introduction:
In 2025, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin symbolizes the transformation of Ethereum's value paradigm through the cartoon image of a "bull". ETH's value evolves from "digital oil" to the "economic heart" of a modular ecosystem, the "internet bond" of interest-bearing assets, and the "trust anchor" of the digital economy. These three pillars work synergistically to drive Ethereum from a single narrative to a diverse and solid value matrix, attracting long-term capital and institutional investors.
Article Source:
https://news.marsbit.co/20250619202548423189.html
Article Author:
Mars Finance
Perspective:
Mars Finance: The narrative of Ethereum as digital oil was its earliest and most successful value positioning. This metaphor intuitively explains ETH's fundamental purpose: serving as fuel (gas) for the world's largest smart contract platform. Every transfer, every DeFi interaction, every Non-Fungible Token minting requires ETH consumption. This indispensable utility built a solid demand base for ETH. However, entering 2025, this classic narrative is facing challenges. The Dencun upgrade in March 2024, particularly the introduction of EIP-4844, provided affordable data publication channels for L2 networks, with numerous transactions moving to L2 networks like Arbitrum and Optimism. This significantly reduced L1 congestion and gas fees, and consequently decreased ETH burning, undermining the positive correlation between network usage and value capture in the digital oil narrative. Data shows that post-Dencun, L1's average gas prices consistently remain in single-digit Gwei, leading to a sharp reduction in destruction under the EIP-1559 mechanism. In this context, ETH is no longer just a transactional consumable asset but is redefined as the economic heart of the entire modular ecosystem - a secure settlement layer providing finality and data availability for L2, with ETH demand shifting from fuel demand to security demand. The narrative of ETH as a value store has also undergone a profound transformation. The concept of ultrasound money was once popular, with EIP-1559's burning mechanism and post-merger low inflation giving ETH a more robust monetary image than BTC. However, L2 proliferation brought L1 fee reductions, weakening the burning mechanism's power, and ETH gradually returned to a slightly inflationary state. This prompted the market to seek a new value logic, leading to the rise of internet bonds. Through the PoS mechanism, ETH holders can obtain 3%-4% of native protocol yields, making it a productive asset with cash flow that attracts traditional finance's attention. More importantly, the popularity of Liquidity Staking Tokens (LST) like stETH and rETH enhanced ETH's liquidity and accelerated staking scale. LST assets are widely integrated into DeFi, forming the LSTfi ecosystem and creating a powerful value flywheel: staking enhances network security, LST promotes DeFi development, which in turn feeds back to ETH demand. This transformation liberates ETH's value from the deflationary myth, moving towards actual yield support, providing a solid foundation for its mainstreaming. Ethereum's most fundamental value pillar is its position as a trust anchor for the global digital economy. Supported by decentralization, security, and network effects, Ethereum becomes the settlement basis for DeFi and stablecoins. In protocols like Aave and MakerDAO, ETH and its LST are primary collaterals, with the market choosing ETH due to its strong liquidity, low volatility, and high security. Ethereum also carries the issuance and circulation of numerous stablecoins, with core stablecoins like USDC and Dai ultimately settling on Ethereum. ETH thus becomes the underlying circulatory system of the digital economy. Additionally, traditional financial giants are approaching Ethereum, such as BlackRock choosing Ethereum to issue its first tokenized fund BUIDL. The ConsenSys CEO once stated that Ethereum can resist nation-state-level adversaries, and this Lindy effect provides an irreplaceable trust foundation. With the RWA wave approaching, Ethereum's role as the ultimate settlement layer will be further consolidated, continuously elevating ETH's value as a global reserve asset.
Content Source
