The co-founder of Ether.fi assessed the prospects for Ethereum in the coming year, 2026/01/06 12:16:21

The main catalyst for Ethereum growth over the course of the year will be digital banks, not speculative traders, said Mike Silagadze, co-founder and CEO of the Ether.fi platform.

The businessman believes that the ecosystem of the second cryptocurrency by capitalization is transforming towards practical benefits for companies and financial institutions.

“The next phase for Ether will be driven less by speculation and more by financial products that make sense to everyday users. Demand will be provided by crypto-neobanks. The whole movement of crypto-neobanks looks like a fast-growing trend – many companies are entering this space and seeing growth there,” Silagadze clarified his thought.

It is digital banks working with cryptocurrencies that can become the foundation for the widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies, especially against the backdrop of the integration of stablecoins into the global financial system, the entrepreneur believes. Such platforms, “crypto-neobanks,” are capable of attracting many more crypto users than spot ETFs, the co-founder of Ether.fi believes.

The success of Ether as a cryptocurrency throughout the year will depend on how quickly the Ethereum ecosystem can move toward providing accessible banking services and move away from applications focused solely on generating speculative income, Sigaladze announced.

Earlier, Matt Hougan, investment director at crypto asset manager Bitwise, said that Ethereum and Solana could demonstrate a sustained rally throughout the year.