Ethereum Merge May Spur More Institutional Interest

Ethereum will likely transition from PoW to PoS this week — DAS panelists discuss its implications post Merge

article-image

Source: DALL·E

share
  • Despite macroeconomic conditions, traditional institutions are not abandoning Ethereum
  • Less energy consumption will likely get institutions excited about Ethereum

The Ethereum Merge is only days away from moving from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS) which will have drastic implications for the future of the blockchain.

Ethereum has evolved to become a technology that developers want to build on, Brian Mosoff, CEO of Ether Capital, said at Digital Asset Summit 2022.

“There’s going to be a spectrum of activities,” Mosoff said. “There’s going to be crypto-native activities such as DeFi, NFTs and metaverse, and then you’re going to have traditional finance — and the next five years are exciting because you’re going to see those worlds converge instead of acting in isolation from one another.”

Even in its current state, as a PoW blockchain, Ethereum has an array of layer-2s that are building products on top of the blockchain, said Kain Warwick, founder of Synthetix, a derivatives liquidity protocol.

“Ethereum has shifted from a monolithic computational layer to a settlement layer,” Warwick said. “The shift to proof-of-stake is going to make that much more efficient.”

Players in traditional finance will be expected to take a greater interest in Ethereum post-Merge. Mosoff said that will likely be driven by the fact that Ethereum will consume much less energy post-Merge. 

“A lot of funds and institutional money has an ESG [environmental, social and governance] angle,” Mosoff said at the conference. “As Ethereum becomes 99% more energy efficient…and there are ways custody has evolved and staking products will be appropriate for those institutions…you’re going to see a lot of institutions get excited about Ethereum specifically.”

Introducing a risk-free rate post-Merge will also appeal to institutions, said Anthony DeMartino, the US CEO of Matrixport.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 24 - 26, 2026

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Unlocked by Template.png

Research

The march toward an interoperable and onchain-by-default internet depends on reliable messaging and value transfer across heterogeneous domains. Crosschain protocols now process >$1.3T in combined annual transfer volume and secure tens of millions of user interactions, yet no single design dominates.

article-image

The move marks the first acquisition for the institutional staking outfit

article-image

CME Group logged $900B in crypto derivatives volume in Q3 2025

by Blockworks /
article-image

Protocol says a USD synthetic is coming, rounding out DEX and lending

by Blockworks /
article-image

Move positions Kraken to launch fully regulated U.S. derivatives markets under CFTC oversight, expanding its onshore reach.

by Blockworks /
article-image

Stablecoins are blockchain’s “ChatGPT moment” says Citi analyst Sophia Bantanidis at DAS London

article-image

New OCC rules on crypto custody lower barriers for billionaire-backed banks like Erebor

by Blockworks /