Ethereum is like ‘Amazon in the 1990s’ — 21Shares

As a seasoned analyst with over two decades of experience in traditional finance and a keen interest in the crypto space, I find myself drawn to Ethereum (ETH) for its striking similarities to Amazon in the early 90s. Like Amazon, which started as an online bookstore but transformed into a global e-commerce and cloud computing giant, Ethereum began as a platform supporting basic smart contracts and has since grown to support over $140 billion worth of decentralized finance applications.

21Shares’ research analyst believes that many Wall Street investors are much like individuals who overlooked Amazon’s potential in the ’90s, not fully grasping Ethereum’s immense value before it reaches the status of a $2 trillion tech powerhouse.

Exchange-traded funds for Ethereum (ETH) were introduced in July, however, they’ve experienced smaller amounts of investment compared to Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs.

According to Leena ElDeeb, a Research Analyst at 21Shares, substantial investments in Ethereum ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds) will occur when the full potential of Ethereum becomes clear.

Eldeeb stated that Ethereum is similar to Amazon in the ’90s, carrying immense potential yet not as easily understood when it comes to practical applications.

As an analyst, I’d rephrase it as follows: Initially, Amazon was just an online bookstore, but who would have thought that it would evolve into a colossal e-commerce and cloud computing powerhouse, revolutionizing the way we buy goods and utilize digital services? This is according to Federico Brokate, vice president and head of the US business unit at 21Shares.

As a researcher delving into the realm of blockchain technology, I find it fascinating to note that Ethereum, initially conceived as a platform for fundamental smart contracts, has evolved significantly over the years. Today, it supports an impressive $140 billion worth of decentralized finance applications, a testament to its growth since its inception in 2015.

“Just as Amazon evolved beyond books to redefine entire industries, Ethereum may also surprise us with revolutionary use cases that we can’t fully envision today.”

As an analyst, I find it intriguing that Ethereum’s market cap of $320 billion represents just 6.25% of Amazon’s staggering $2 trillion valuation. However, when considering their respective beginnings in the ’90s, Ethereum seems to have an edge over Amazon – a vast pool of dedicated developers working tirelessly to make the network useful and accessible.

As we approached the end of the ’90s, Amazon had approximately 7,600 employees. Conversely, the Ethereum network currently boasts more than 200,000 active developers who are part of its ongoing development – these include software engineers, researchers, and designers of protocols. This was a point made by Brokate.

“Amazon has grown to employ over 1.5 million people worldwide — growth we may see paralleled in the Ethereum ecosystem.”

Despite facing competition from Solana and other layer-1 contenders, Ethereum remains king in the realm of decentralized trading platforms, loans and lending, stablecoins, and markets for real-world assets.

In simpler terms, the world’s biggest investment company, BlackRock, has converted $533 million from money market funds into digital tokens and stored them on the Ethereum blockchain. More recently, the Union Bank of Switzerland introduced a similar tokenized fund on November 1.

Payment firms PayPal and Visa are also building on Ethereum.

Yet, “only a few investors understand Ethereum’s potential,” and many have chosen to “remain on the sidelines” with the spot Ether ETFs for the time being, Brokate noted.

Short-term financiers remain cautious and may not readily invest in Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) until there’s more understanding about Ethereum’s future prospects and applications, according to ElDeeb. In simpler terms, they want to see a clearer picture of what Ethereum can do before making significant investments.

“[However,] we remain optimistic that as the market matures and Ethereum’s diverse applications grow, investor sentiment and adoption will follow a similar path of sustained growth.”

According to Katalin Tischhauser, Head of Research at Sygnum Bank, the inflow into Ether ETFs accounted for only 9% of what Bitcoin ETFs accumulated during their initial 90 days, when we exclude Grayscale outflows.

It was generally anticipated for several reasons: a brief marketing phase, ongoing assessment of Bitcoin ETFs by investors, and the U.S. securities regulator’s denial of staking, as reported by Tischhauser to CryptoMoon.

However, the image might significantly change over the next twelve months as investors get more time to scrutinize Ethereum’s compelling arguments, according to Tischhauser.

As a researcher, I find myself unfazed by the current count of Spot Ethereum ETF providers reporting “zero” inflows lately, as I believe in focusing on the underlying trends and factors driving these developments.

“It would be way too soon to talk about delisting, traditional investors need time.”

21Shares is one of eight US spot Ether ETF issuers and has amassed $21.9 million of net inflows.

According to Tischhauser, it’s possible that the absence of institutional transactions could be due to Ethereum‘s second-layer scaling approach, which might be impacting the income generated by the Ethereum main network.

CK Zheng, the head of investment at cryptocurrency hedge fund ZX Squared Capital, shared with CryptoMoon that Ethereum’s declining income streams might not be favorable to numerous Wall Street investors who prefer using cash flow assessments for determining a company’s worth.

As a researcher, I find it reminiscent of Amazon’s continuous losses in the ’90s that they persisted through, I too remain unfazed by Ethereum’s recent dip in revenue. This is because their layer 2 scaling strategy is effectively onboarding millions of new users at minimal costs, a promising sign for its future growth.

Over time, transaction fees from Layer 2 networks may grow sufficiently large to return Ethereum’s mainnet transaction fees to their previous levels, as suggested by Brokate.

2024-11-04 05:42

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