Ethereum News: Ex-BlackRock Exec Believes Ethereum TVL Will 10X in 2026

Key Insights:

• As per the latest Ethereun crypto news data, the total value locked on the Ethereum ecosystem could hit ten-fold in 2026
• According to Sharplink Gaming CEO, the TVL’s rise will mainly be thanks to multiple sectors and investors doubling down on their exposure to ETH.
• He noted that tokenization will expand from individual funds, stocks, and bonds to entire fund complexes.

As per the latest Ethereum news data, the total value locked on the Ethereum ecosystem could hit ten-fold in 2026 as adoption grows across multiple sectors and institutional investors increase their exposure, noted a post on X by Joseph Chalom, co-CEO of Sharplink.

Sharplink Gaming ranks as the second-largest public Ethereum treasury company, holding 797,704 ETH, worth roughly $2.33 billion, according to insights from the Ethereum Treasuries data.

Chalom said the stablecoin market could grow from $308 billion today to $500 billion by next year, a 62% increase.

The Ethereum crypto network continues to dominate the space, accounting for more than half of all stablecoin activity, around 54 percent. This dominance could drive a significant rise in the network’s total value locked as the stablecoin market expands.

Ethereum News: Chalom Forecasts Tokenized Real-World Assets Market to Hit $300 Billion by 2026

According to the Sharplink CEO, tokenized real-world assets are set for strong growth. He forecasts the market will reach $300 billion in 2026.

Chalom expects assets under management to increase tenfold next year. Tokenization will expand from individual funds, stocks, and bonds to new, sophisticated funds

He attributed the market’s expansion to growing interest from major financial firms, such as JPMorgan, Franklin Templeton, and BlackRock, which have increased their activity over the past year.

Rising total value locked is often seen as a sign of growing interest in a network. Rising interest could boost market sentiment, but Ethereum’s $68.2 billion TVL hasn’t removed all concerns. Analyst Benjamin Cowen warned Ether may struggle to hit new highs next year.

He cited current conditions for Bitcoin as a limiting factor. At the time of reporting, Ether is trading at $2,924, down 3.12% over the past 30 days, according to CoinMarketCap.

The CEO anticipates Ethereum (ETH) holdings and tokenization activity by sovereign wealth funds will grow five- to tenfold over the next year.

He noted that 2026 will bring significant growth as competitive dynamics take hold. In the past, many allocators avoided crypto, making it safe to stay on the sidelines.

The CEO also predicts that on-chain AI agents and prediction markets will go mainstream. He expects this shift to boost activity and add meaningful value to the ecosystem.

His remarks follow a recent Ethereum crypto news update on The CoinRepublic by Arkham Intelligence showing that major Ethereum holding company just kicked off staked ETH with $219M.

Ethereum Crypto Network 2026 Upgrade

Meanwhile, Ethereum (ETH) price discussions are increasingly focused on the upcoming 2026 Glamsterdam upgrade. This upgrade follows the Fusaka update, which raised block gas limits to 60 million. Glamsterdam marks a step forward in Ethereum’s move toward greater Layer 1 scalability.

A key feature of the upgrade is the enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation. This change reduces the risks associated with validator concentration and strengthens network security.

The upgrade also introduces block-level access lists. These lists lower execution costs and enable parallel processing of transactions. Together, these improvements boost throughput while preserving decentralization. Community estimates suggest gas limits could reach 200 million, a scale that would significantly enhance Layer 1 capacity. The Hegota fork will introduce Verkle Trees, a key upgrade designed to address state growth pressure directly.