Ethereum is “digital oil,” says Etherealize co-founder

• Ethereum Compared to Digital Oil by Analyst
• ETH can be a strategic asset in institutional reserves
• Asset tokenization could boost Ethereum usage

For more than a century, oil has dominated essential industries like transportation and manufacturing. Now, Ethereum is starting to take on a similar role in the digital fabric of the economy, according to Etherealize co-founder Vivek Raman.

Having worked at major banks and currently leading an initiative to bring Wall Street closer to Ethereum, Raman said he sees ETH as a strategic asset, comparable to oil. “I always call it digital oil,” he said. According to him, as the cryptocurrency sector matures, institutions will not only want, but need to hold Ethereum in their reserves.

INTRODUCING ETHEREALIZE

An institutional marketing and product arm for the I @ethere ecosystem

Our goal? To accelerate adoption by bringing institutions to Ethereum: the digital economy of tomorrow

All roads flow through ETH. We'll show the world why

Here's our plan:

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— Etherealize (@Etherealize_io) January 22, 2025

The comparison has been gaining traction among experts. Unlike Bitcoin, often labeled “digital gold” due to its limited supply of 21 million units, Ethereum has its own dynamics. With a maximum issuance of 1,5% per year and the constant burning of transaction fees, ETH has a more predictable supply, according to Danny Ryan, co-founder of the same company.

Another difference is that, while oil does not offer a return, Ethereum allows returns through staking. Currently, the estimated return for validators is around 3% per year, according to data from Dune.

The rise of tokenization of real assets such as stocks and bonds reinforces Ethereum’s potential as the foundation for a tokenized financial system. Despite competition from networks like Solana, Ethereum remains the preferred choice for large institutions like BlackRock and Franklin Templeton.

Vivek Raman believes that ETH will become the neutral asset that connects various tokenized markets. “The only neutral asset that is global, that connects them all, is ETH,” he said. This reinforces Ethereum’s position as a key element in the new decentralized financial framework, not just as a network, but as an asset to be strategically held by institutions around the world.