This week in The Protocol Newsletter, we explore Ethereum Institutional, a newly established nonprofit dedicated to informing financial institutions and banks about Ethereum.
By Margaux Nijkerk|Edited by Cheyenne Ligon Jul 9, 2026, 2:58 p.m. 4 min readMake preferred on ShareShare this articleCopy linkX (Twitter)LinkedInFacebookEmailMake preferred on SummaryShowWelcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk’s tech newsletter that covers key developments in blockchain technology. I’m Margaux Nijkerk, a CoinDesk reporter.
We provide insights into significant trends, innovations, and discussions that are shaping the blockchain landscape each week.
This week, we focus on Ethereum Institutional, a newly formed nonprofit dedicated to educating banks and financial institutions about Ethereum.
The organization aims to act as Wall Street's guide to the Ethereum ecosystem, assisting banks and asset managers during a crucial time for the network.
Over the past year, discussions surrounding Ethereum have largely revolved around its future. The Ethereum Foundation has encountered increasing scrutiny regarding its role, prompting it to revamp its leadership, reduce its workforce, and refocus its efforts on overseeing the protocol. Concurrently, new independent entities have started to emerge to take on roles once managed by the foundation.
Ethereum Institutional is the latest initiative, launched just last week with an ambitious mission: to serve as the entry point for banks and financial institutions into the Ethereum ecosystem.
The founders assert that the nonprofit will provide a neutral platform for enterprises exploring Ethereum, assisting them in understanding the ecosystem, connecting with developers and infrastructure providers, and navigating the network without endorsing any specific company or product.
David Walsh, Matthew Dawson, and Marius Smith lead Ethereum Institutional, bringing backgrounds from traditional finance, technology, and crypto. Walsh and Dawson were previously part of the Ethereum Foundation's enterprise engagement team, while Smith has held senior positions at Google and EigenLayer developer Eigen Labs.
"Over the past year, we've established around 500 relationships, and a common piece of feedback has been the value of having a neutral partner," Dawson told CoinDesk in an interview. "With thousands of teams in the Ethereum ecosystem, the feedback often indicates that it can be quite overwhelming."
The organization intends to address what its founders perceive as a gap in Ethereum's institutional approach.
Unlike businesses developing products on Ethereum, Ethereum Institutional plans to collaborate across the ecosystem, assisting enterprises in evaluating use cases like tokenization, stablecoins, and digital asset infrastructure while connecting them with the most suitable teams for their needs.
"Navigating through what is already a complex and new technology, along with a decentralized ecosystem, can be daunting," Dawson explained. "Having a reliable and impartial ally to assist with that navigation can expedite the process and instill confidence."
Its launch coincides with Ethereum reaching a critical juncture. The leaders of the network are increasingly formalizing how various components of the ecosystem are assuming responsibilities. The Ethereum Foundation has clarified its intent to concentrate more on protocol development while encouraging independent organizations to take charge of areas such as business development, ecosystem expansion, and institutional engagement.
The founders of Ethereum Institutional deliberately chose to operate as an independent nonprofit rather than remaining under the foundation's umbrella.
"The EF has always emphasized its principle of subtraction," Dawson noted, referring to the organization's strategy of redistributing responsibilities to other entities. "This exemplifies the growing decentralization and the increasing number of participants representing Ethereum."
Operating independently from the foundation also provides the organization with greater flexibility, according to Walsh.
"We believe we have significantly more autonomy and freedom as an independent entity," he stated. "This allows us to adopt a more opinionated and proactive stance in supporting these teams."
The Ethereum Foundation has historically taken a cautious approach regarding its influence in the ecosystem. Its primary role has been to coordinate protocol development and manage Ethereum’s technical roadmap, rather than act as a central authority driving business development or adoption. However, as the network has expanded, some community members have urged the foundation to assume a more proactive role in areas like institutional outreach and ecosystem coordination, responsibilities that it has increasingly opted to decentralize instead.
Ethereum Institutional is part of a growing network of organizations taking on specialized roles within Ethereum. Recently, EthLabs launched to foster ecosystem development, while companies like Etherealize, which was established in 2025, have focused on integrating institutions into the blockchain space through commercial products and services.
Walsh views Ethereum Institutional as a complement to these other organizations rather than a competitor. "Our approach is slightly different, focusing more on education and maintaining neutrality regarding the solutions we recommend for institutions to adopt."
The founders contend that while much of the online discourse surrounding Ethereum has concentrated on governance issues and competition from other blockchains, institutional interest has been steadily growing behind the scenes.
They highlight recent tokenization efforts by companies such as BlackRock, JPMorgan, and Robinhood as indicators that Ethereum remains the leading platform for institutional blockchain applications.
Dawson believes that there is no conflict between Ethereum's cypherpunk roots and the growing interest from Wall Street, even as some suggest these interests may diverge.
Read more: EthLabs launches as Ethereum undergoes its biggest leadership transition in years
Ethereum NewsNewslettersLatest Crypto News- 1Aave rolls out vaults for yield-hungry fintech investors1 hour ago
- 2Age verification is the surveillance nobody voted for2 hours ago
- 3Over $7.2 billion have migrated from LayerZero to Chainlink CCIP as Mantle joins exodus3 hours ago
- 4Pricing houses in bitcoin exposes dollar's loss of value3 hours ago
- 5Swift rolls out new blockchain ledger to bring 24/7 banking to 17 global giants3 hours ago
- 6Latin America’s biggest stock exchange now offers options on bitcoin, ether and solana futures4 hours ago
- 7Crypto remains resilient in face of renewed Middle East tensions4 hours ago
- 8Singapore's Temasek investment fund says crypto is off the table, will focus on AI4 hours ago
- 9Crypto trader applies legendary HODL strategy to EUR/USD forex bet 5 hours ago
- 10Sony secures conditional approval to set up U.S. stablecoin trust bank5 hours ago
SpaceX IPO Drives Tokenized Equity Volumes to Record as Stablecoin Market Cap Falls
SpaceX IPO Drives Tokenized Equity Volumes to Record as Stablecoin Market Cap Falls
Stablecoin market cap fell to $312B in June, its largest monthly drop since TerraUSD, while tokenized equity volumes surged 145% to a record $3.86B.
By CoinDesk ResearchJul 7, 2026Stablecoin market cap fell to $312B in June, its largest monthly drop since TerraUSD, while tokenized equity volumes surged 145% to a record $3.86B.
Why it matters:
Stablecoin market cap fell to $312B in June, its largest monthly drop since TerraUSD, while tokenized equity volumes surged 145% to a record $3.86B.
View Full ReportMore From Tech