Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said the blockchain “has succeeded beyond anyone’s expectations” during his keynote at EthCC 2025 in Cannes. The event gathered developers, company leaders, and institutions in the Palais des Festivals—the same venue used for the Cannes Film Festival.
The conference showed how far Ethereum institutional adoption has progressed. Firms like Robinhood, BlackRock, Deutsche Bank, Coinbase, and Kraken are now using Ethereum for trading, tokenization, and onchain finance tools.
Buterin told that institutions prefer Ethereum not for speed, but because “it’s stable and dependable, because it doesn’t go down.” He added that long-term features like privacy and censorship resistance are important to these firms.
Robinhood, Deutsche Bank, and BlackRock Turn to Ethereum for Tokenized Financial Products
At a private event in Cannes, Robinhood announced the launch of tokenized stocks and ETFs on Arbitrum, a Layer 2 solution built on Ethereum. The feature is available to users in Europe and marks the first time a U.S.-listed company has put stocks onchain using Ethereum rails.
Robinhood’s share price moved above $100 after the announcement. The stock rose over 30% in the same week.
The launch drew attention at EthCC 2025, as it showed how Ethereum-based networks like Arbitrum are being used in traditional financial markets.
Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank said it is creating a tokenization platform on zkSync, another Ethereum-based Layer 2 network. The platform will let asset managers issue and manage tokenized funds, stablecoins, and other financial products while meeting regulatory standards.
BlackRock is offering a tokenized money market fund named BUIDL. The fund runs on Ethereum and provides onchain access to yield with USDC redemptions. It was launched in 2024 and is available to qualified investors.
Both cases show how traditional institutions are using Ethereum tokenization to build financial products.
Coinbase and Kraken Expand Ethereum-Based Offerings
Coinbase filed paperwork with the U.S. SEC to offer tokenized public equities. If approved, this would let users trade traditional stocks through blockchain systems.
Kraken also revealed plans to launch 24/7 tokenized stock trading in selected international markets. These initiatives build on Ethereum’s infrastructure and expand access to regulated assets using blockchain tools.
Buterin said institutions regularly ask about Ethereum privacy and features like transaction fairness and network uptime. These aspects matter when executing large or sensitive orders onchain.
Tomasz Stańczak, co-executive director of the Ethereum Foundation, said institutions choose Ethereum for “ten years without stopping, with a huge dedication to security and censorship resistance.” He noted that institutions want proof their transactions are processed fairly, without preference.
Related: Ethereum Shorts Misunderstood? Institutions Signal Confidence with Basis Trades Amid Uptrend to $3,000
ETH Price Gains and Public Firms Add Ethereum to Reserves
During the week of EthCC 2025, Ethereum’s native token ETH rose nearly 6%. Several public companies tied to Ethereum also recorded notable stock gains.
BitMine Immersion Technologies saw its share price surge by more than 1,200% after it shifted its treasury reserve to ETH. Bit Digital, which exited Bitcoin mining to concentrate on Ethereum staking and treasury operations, gained 34%. Meanwhile, SharpLink Gaming added $20 million worth of ETH to its balance sheet and saw its stock rise 28%.
At the same time, Ethereum ETF inflows remained positive for the second consecutive month. ETH-based funds now manage around $11 billion, according to CoinGlass data.
Ethereum stablecoins continue to serve as key tools across finance platforms. According to CoinGecko, Ethereum still handles around 50% of the total stablecoin market share.
Ethereum Tokenization Trends Expand Beyond Crypto
Bettina Boon Falleur, who leads EthCC, said this year’s talks focused less on markets and more on systems. She noted that Ethereum tokenization now includes work with local governments and efforts to bring crypto tools into public infrastructure.
She added that builders at EthCC are focused on bringing Ethereum to “the next billion users.”
Buterin told the audience at the Palais:
“We don’t just want to succeed. We want to be something that is worthy of succeeding.”
He focused on values like openness, permissionless access, and network neutrality as Ethereum scales globally.
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